The Luck of the Draw
by Videomixer
Summary: When Calvin is sent into the Pokémon world, he tries desperately to return home, but that isn't always the easiest thing to do in this universe.Things only get more complicated when he has to deal with changes he didn't even think possible. Just his luck.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first story on this site, so don't expect it to be perfect!**

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

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Chapter 1: The Game

"And that concludes our school year," Mr. Gonzales announced after the bell rang. "You are dismissed. Please exit in an orderly fash-Gah!" he started before being crushed against the wall by the massive crowd of 8th graders trying to get out. I snickered at this out of amusement, but stopped as soon as our instructor got back up. You did _not_ want to get caught laughing at him. "C'mon, Cal!" my best friend, Mark, said dragging me of the room out by my shirt. Even though this was summer vacation, he seemed more excited than in 7th grade. "Why the big rush?" I asked him trying to keep up with him.

"It's summer vacation, why else?" he replied slowing down once we were off campus.

"Yeah, that's the reason," I said sarcastically as I readjusted my shirt.

"Anyway, is there any chance you can come over today?" he asked changing the subject.

"I'll ask," I replied knowing my parents wouldn't mind since he only lived a few blocks away. We said briefly said our goodbyes and sprinted home. About 20 minutes later, I was at my front door. "I'm home, Mom!" I shouted after unlocking the door and opening it.

"Welcome home, Calvin," she replied from the kitchen. After running upstairs, I tossed my backpack on the bed with a deep breath. After making sure to not disturb my younger sister, I headed down stairs to get permission. "Is it okay if I go out today?" I asked my mother grinning.

"Mark's place?" she said questioningly continuing to scrub the dishes.

"You know me so well," I said to her with a wink.

"Take out the trash and you can go," she replied shrugging.

"Got it!" I exclaimed. I grabbed the plastic garbage bag and was done throwing it away in less than half a minute. "Can I come too?" an all too familiar voice asked.

"_No_," I responded to my annoying little sister, Stacy.

"But I _want _too! Moooooommmmy!" she whined to our mother.

"Let her, Calvin," my mother commanded. With a sigh, I agreed glaring at Stacy. I packed my white DS Lite and my Pokémon HeartGold version. Mark and I were avid Pokémon fans and we loved to battle each other to test our skills and had lots of fun doing so. "Just don't break anything, like last time," I told Stacy remembering she broke a plate the last time she visited my friend's house. She promised, but I still didn't trust her. We walked to his house slowly since she never ran for whatever reason. After a grueling travel with her talking nonstop, we finally arrived. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Mark answered quickly. "You're so late," he said bluntly. "I figured why though," he said with a thoughtful smile as he looked at my sister. "Stacy, my cousin is visiting, so you two can play," he said letting her in. Stacy squealed and ran inside looking for her. "You brought your game, right?" he asked.

"Don't I always," I replied taking it out.

"Good. Come on," he said pointing to his basement, as rare as those were in California. I nodded and followed him down. "I want you to see my latest invention," he told me excitedly.

"Hope this one doesn't blow up in our faces, literally," I replied shaking my head.

"Don't worry, I've tested it. I've been working on this for years!" he said barely able to contain his joy. We eventually came to the entrance of the basement where he had various gadgets and doodads littered around the place. "So you tidied up," I commented in a sarcastic tone. Though he calls himself an inventor, I think he is just lucky since 50 percent of the time his "inventions" didn't work. He's been at it for several years. "So, you know how the sprites are in 2D, right?" he asked. I nodded. "This machine puts all the models in 3D!" he said proudly gesturing to this giant machine.

"I know something like that! It's called Pokémon Battle Revolution," I told him wondering if I should quit being so sarcastic. That's the second time within a minute.

"Yeah, but that was a complete failure, remember?" he replied, not discouraged by my sarcasm. "It not only does that, but also it gives the gym leaders more dynamic text to show personality!" he added grinning. "Just insert your game here," he said pointing to a slot.

"This better not mess up my game save; I just beat Red," I told him putting my game in after some hesitation.

"Don't worry," he said smiling. He was just about to pull the switch when a pair of footsteps came sprinting down the stairs.  
"You'll never catch me!" my sister's voice said.

"I'll make you it!" an unfamiliar voice, probably my friend's cousin shouted. They tumbled down the stairs and crashed into a wall shaking a few things in the room. "Wow," I said putting my head in my hand.

"Cal? We have a problem," Mark said backing away from his machine that was now firing sparks off and making sputtering noises. A quick look up revealed some coffee had spilled on the machine, presumably due to it being knocked out by the room's shaking. "Everyone! RUN!" Mark shouted sprinting upstairs with both girls in his arms. I tried running, but my pants snagged on something, and I tripped. Now, I was desperately trying to untangle myself from the wires I fell into.

"I don't wanna die… Mark! Help!" I shouted. He tried coming down, but fell down the stairs and was knocked out cold about 10 meters away from me. "Why does it have to end like this?" I asked myself knowing it was only a matter of seconds before the machine exploded. "Goodbye cruel world…" I mumbled giving up my struggle. "I suppose there are many worse ways to go," I said to myself. "At least I'm going out in a unique way," I added before the machine gave a final sputter. I saw a bright light from it before everything went dark.

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**A/N: There is the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed! Any constructive criticism is appreciated, along with compliments. This is just the prologue, so it is a little short. If you have an idea for a new title, don't be afraid to share!**


	2. Chapter 1: Where am I?

**A/N: Took a few days of writing, but it's finally here.**

___Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

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Chapter 1: Where am I?

I awoke to the sensation of falling through the air. Amazed I had just survived an explosion mere moments ago, I slowly opened my eyes to see a gigantic forest about a hundred meters below me, coming closer at an alarming rate. My eyes snapped open at this and did the only thing I could think of in the situation; I screamed and flattened my body to try catching as much air resistance as possible. Even though I knew the added air would not slow my fall to a survivable rate, I was willing to try anything to stay alive. Only about ten meters from the trees, I squinted my eyes, covered my face using my arms, and braced myself for the oncoming pain.

On the way down to the ground, I broke several branches, covering me in cuts and bruises and tearing my clothing. Even with all the branches slowing my fall, I knew I was still going too fast to not, at the very least, break a few bones. I eventually broke through all the branches and found I was going to fall another five meters before reaching the ground. Shutting my eyes tightly, I waited for impact. It never came. I waited 30 seconds before daring to open my eyes. What I saw shocked me. I was floating mere centimeters from the ground. I heard a childish giggle before I was dropped on the ground. Wondering where the noise came from, I sat up and looked around. Whatever had laughed was long gone by now. "I'm alive…" I said quietly to myself. "A little beaten up, but alive…"

"You over there!" a male voice shouted. I looked around, wondering if they meant me. I saw a man with spiky orange hair in a gray coat running toward me. Not sure what to do, I pointed to myself as to inquire if they meant me. "Yeah you!" he shouted. Not sure whether to trust him, I considered running and tried getting up, but it still pained me too much to move. I waited for him to get closer since it was not like I was going anywhere. "You okay?" he asked me.

"A little bruised up here and there, but I'm fine," I replied hiding my pain.

"Well, it's not every day you see someone falling out of a tree!" he exclaimed. "What did you think were you doing!?" he asked me in an irritated voice.

"Climbing…" I replied.

"Come on… Um… What's your name?" he asked helping me up.

"Calvin. Cal for short," I replied leaning on him for support.

"Well, let's patch those cuts up bandages with bandages. Wait a minute… How did you get cut up so badly?" he asked walking South.

"I fell through a bunch of branches," I admitted. "I heard a childish laugh, and, the next thing I knew, I was floating centimeters from the ground," I added shaking my head. "Pardon me for asking, but have we met? You seem familiar…" I asked.

"I think I would have remembered you," he responded rolling his eyes. "Anyway, my sister, Daisy, should be able to bandage you up," he said pointing to a quaint town up ahead. _Daisy? Small town? He couldn't be…_ I thought to myself with a worried look on my face. "What's your name?" I asked trying to test my theory.

"Blue. Blue Oak, Viridian City gym leader," he said proudly. I nearly tripped hearing this.

"Y-You're really Blue?" I asked again.

"The one and only," he replied grinning. I noticed we were at his sister's house already. He entered quickly. "Yo sis!" he called.

"You finally stopped by," a female voice said.

"Let's cut the chit-chat; Cal here needs to be bandaged up," he said putting my in front of him.

"Oh dear, what happened?" she asked eying my wounds.

"This genius decided fall through a bunch of branches," he replied rolling his eyes. "He's lucky I was training nearby because he doesn't look like he has any Pokémon on him," he added noting my lack of Poké Balls. "Speaking of which, why _were_ you out there without Pokémon for protection?" he asked suspiciously. "Gramps didn't even let my rival out of town without his starter two years ago," he said.

"I… Don't remember," I replied deciding he probably wouldn't believe me if I told him I was from a world where Pokémon didn't exist. I winced when Daisy put disinfectant on my cuts. She apologized and quickly resumed putting bandages on.

"At least you don't _seem_ like a bad person," Blue commented. We talked for a bit with me only wincing slightly.

"That's all I can do for now," Daisy said finishing the last bandage.

"Anyway, I called up next door, and she'll let you stay in her unused room," Blue said pointing to the house next to this one. "I'll see if Gramps has any Pokémon he can spare for you," he added dialing a number on, what I can only assume is, his PokéGear. "So gramps I was wondering if…" he started before I tuned out to observe my ripped up clothing. It was only ripped in a few places, thankfully. "Uh-huh. Got it," Blue said before hanging up. "He'll be expecting you and some other boy tomorrow at 9. Don't be late," he told me. "Let's get you to your place for tonight," he stated gesturing for me to come with him toward the door.

"Okay. Thanks for the help, Daisy," I said walking out. Blue and I walked until we were at the next house. He knocked and we waited for an answer. A woman came out smiling.

"You must be Calvin," she said smiling at me.

"That would be me," I replied. "Everyone calls me Cal though," I added.

"The room upstairs hasn't been touched for a couple of years, but the SNES is still up there if you are bored," she said allowing me to come in. "He left it a few years ago," she commented.

"Thanks for the favor," Blue said. "If ya miss me, kid, I'll be in Viridian City. Maybe you'll even be good enough to challenge me eventually. Until we meet again, smell you later," he said smirking.

"Thank you for letting me stay, ma'am," I said to the woman.

"That room is just extra space now anyway," she said with a somewhat forced smile. "My child is out there somewhere," she mumbled looking outside. I went upstairs without another word. Since it was only about 20:00, I decided to play the SNES for a bit. After about an hour of playing, I turned it off and got into bed. I had a dreamless sleep.

* * *

I woke up with a yawn, not feeling most of the pain from yesterday. I looked over at the clock and found it was already 8: 55. I tumbled out of bed landing me in a world of pain when I hit the floor. Shrugging the pain off, I rushed downstairs to find the mother already awake. "Thanks for letting me stay!" I said to her rushing out waiting for her response. I made it to Oak's lab without a minute to spare. I was breathing deeply by the time I got into his lab.

"I was worried you weren't going to show up," a voice said. I looked up to find none other than Professor Oak.

"I overslept; sorry," I replied.

"What happened to you?" he asked noting my bandages.

"Long story," I replied.

"Well, you weren't late, so I'll let the explanation slide," Oak replied. "Ahem. Welcome to my lab, you two. As you know, I'm professor Oak," he said introducing himself.

"Name's Josh," the kid beside me said. He was a boy standing at about five foot two wearing a gray jacket over a black shirt with blue jeans and red shoes. "What happened to you? You look like you were hit by a train," he said to me.

"Don't want to explain," I replied.

"Ahem," Oak cleared his throat. "In order to help kids mature and grow, we are entrusting them with their very own Pokémon," he explained. "To help new trainers, we are also giving them with the Poké Dex which was completed for Kanto two years ago by my grandson and his rival, so new trainers are able to use this data," he added. "With all that out of the way, you may choose your starter," Oak said with a friendly smile.

"You can go first," Josh said gesturing to the balls on the table. I gave him a thanks and immediately headed for the ball on the right.

"I'm picking this one," I said knowing it contained Charmander.

"You sure? You don't even know which Pokémon is inside of it," Oak said.

"I'm sure," I replied.

"Very well…" Oak said somewhat puzzled that I didn't at least check the Pokémon inside.

"I got this one then," Josh said choosing the ball with the water symbol on it.

"Say, Cal, have you done this before?" Oak asked.

"No," I replied. It was technically the truth since I hadn't done this without controlling a player avatar. Not telling the whole truth is not the same as lying.

"Well then. Charmander and Squirtle, excellent choices," Oak said smiling. I began to walk out when I heard Josh say, "I think we both know what is going to happen next." I sighed, not in the mood. "Tell you what, I'll let you borrow my spare PokéGear if you can beat me," he said showing me the device. Realizing it could become important, I agreed to the battle. "Let's take this outside," he said. I nodded.

"I'll serve as the referee for this match," Oak said following us. Josh and I nodded and sent out Squirtle and Charmander respectively. "Ready…. BEGIN!" Oak exclaimed.

"Charmander scratch!" I shouted knowing Squirtle was more than likely slower anyway. I looked at Josh. He had a smirk on his face. _Not good _I thought.

"Go into your shell!" Josh shouted. Squirtle withdrew itself into his shell making Charmander mere scratch the surface of it. "Tackle," he commanded coolly. Now that Charmander was mere centimeters away, Squirtle had no trouble hitting.

Growling, I exclaimed, "Scratch now that he's in close!" Again, Charmander attempted to scratch and was successful this time around.

"Tackle once more!" Josh said. Squirtle obeyed without hesitation and started rushing at my Charmander.

"Jump over him!" I shouted. Charmander attempted to dodge, but was hit on his legs, causing him to land on the ground. "Scratch while his back is turned!" I told him. Charmander sprinted behind the water type, and Squirtle was scratched on the back of his head.

"Well played," Josh said. "You're unprepared for this!" he added. "Tackle!" he said.

"Counter it with scratch!" I commanded. The two Pokémon ran at each other determined to beat the other. The attacks collided causing a lot of dirt to fly upward. Once it cleared, both Pokémon were on the dirt, fainted.

"It's a draw," Oak declared. I sighed and returned Charmander to his ball. Josh did the same with Squirtle. "Come into my lab. I'll heal them up," Oak added gesturing for us to follow. Once they were healed, he handed the Poké Balls back to us. "I nearly forgot to give these to you," Oak said smiling with Poké Balls in his hands. We both thanked him.

"Cal was it? Even though I said I would let ya borrow it if you won, here," Josh said tossing the Poké Gear toward me. "You earned it," he added smiling.

"Excellent!" the professor said grinning. "I'll give you both my number, so you two can call any time," he added. Once we both registered him, we set off.

"You're a decent battler," Josh commented. "Since I want to make sure you don't break my item and to train, want to travel together as partners?" he offered offering his hand to shake.

I thought it over. I didn't really know Kanto that well since it was different from the game world I had perceived it to be, and he might believe my story if I travel with him long enough. "Partners," I said shaking his hand.

"Great!" he said letting go. "How are you going to carry all your items?" he asked.

"Err…" _I hadn't really thought about that. I might be here a while too…_

"I know! Good thing we haven't left Pallet Town yet!" he said rushing off somewhere. While he was gone, I decided to ponder on how I would get home. I came up with no solutions. "I got it!" Josh said rushing toward me with a yellow backpack in hand and interrupting my thoughts.

"Thanks," I said putting the Poké Balls I received earlier in it.

"I also left some clothes in there since yours are…" he stopped.

"I know," I said putting the backpack on. "Let's go," I added. He nodded, and we set foot onto route 1. "That was some pretty nice battling out there," I complimented him.

"You too. First battle?" he asked me.

"Yep," I replied. We conversed for a while avoiding wild Pokémon on the way.

"Agreed," Josh replied when I asked about camping out. "I'm always prepared," he said getting a sleeping bag out to show me. "My old one is in the bag I gave you," he explained.

"You are way too nice," I said smiling as I looked at it.

"Well, Pallet Town is so quiet I don't really have any friends," he said shrugging. "You have any friends?" he asked.

"Yes, but he is in a faraway place," I replied.

"Oh," Josh. "Well, I hope you two meet again," he added.

"Me too…" I replied continuing to walk. While my bag was open, I checked the clothes he had packed. It was really just a navy blue jacket to put over my ripped T-shirt. I put it on. I felt much better than yesterday when I fell out of the sky.

"So, what's your dream?" he asked trying to continue our conversation.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you know, what do you want to become?" he asked. "For example, my goal is to become a Pokémon Master," he said. "I'm challenging all the gyms to become champion," he added with a proud grin.

"I… Don't know," I admitted. _Maybe it would be a good idea to think of a career if I end up stuck here forever… What am I saying? I __**will**__ find a way back to my world!_

"I suppose there's time to decide," he said shrugging. "You should challenge the gyms though," he recommended. "It'll help you gain respect around here," Josh added.

"I'll think about it," I replied. We continued walking until we saw Viridian up ahead. "There is Viridian, right?" I said. "Maybe we can visit Blue," I suggested.

"You know Blue?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I replied smiling.

"Did you miss me that much, Cal?" a familiar voice said.

"Hello Blue," I said looking up at him. He had an Arcanine by his side. "You have a PokéGear, right?" I asked him knowing the answer.

"Yep. Do you have one now?" he asked stroking his Arcanine.

"I'm borrowing it, but yeah," I replied. "Mind if we exchange numbers?" I asked. He thought for a moment and agreed.

"Don't give it to just anyone. I don't want weirdoes calling me," he warned. I nodded.

"This is my friend, Josh," I said introducing them. They shook hands.

"Nice to meet you! You're pretty cool since you don't have a specific type in your gym," Josh said smiling.

"Thank you," Blue stated evidently appreciating the compliment.

"While I've got you here, do you know of any Pokémon that can travel between dimensions?" I asked interrupting their conversation. He thought for a moment, but shook his head.

"Ask Gramps for info like that," he told me. "If you two ever get seven badges, I'll be waiting here. Josh! Cal! Smell ya later!" he said before walking away.

"I can't believe I met one of the strongest gym leaders," Josh told me apparently happy. "Anyway, why did you ask him about a Pokémon that could travel between dimensions?" he asked curiously.

"I'm a curious person…?" I replied hoping he'd buy that. He didn't seem convinced, but he moved on. Blue had a point. Oak _would_ know about this kind of stuff. "Let's get to the Pokémon center," I said walking to the giant orange topped building. "You go get out Pokémon healed," I said trusting him with Charmander. He nodded and took him. I dialed Oak's number and was glad he picked up right away.

"Hello?" Oak's voice said.

"It's Calvin, sir," I replied.

"Oh-ho! No need for formalities my boy," he stated.

"Right," I said. "So you know the most about Pokémon in the region, right?" I asked.

"Most would say that. Why?" he responded raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to ask about a certain Pokémon," I told him.

"Let me hear it," he said before waiting for my response.

"Do you," I hesitated. "Know of any Pokémon that have the ability to travel between dimensions?" I continued.

"Hmm…" He scowled in deep thought. "There is one that I know of; however, it is not native to Kanto," he said. "It is said that Palkia, the Spatial Pokémon, is a Pokémon that governs space and travels between dimensions," he explained. "It was thought to be a mere myth up until recently; when the plans of Team Galactic were summoning Palkia and Dialga to create a new world. They were stopped by Giritina, and a young child helped calm Giritina down," he said. "This happened recently in Sinnoh, but I'm not an expert on those two. Cynthia, the champion of that region, knows all about this," he added. "She was in Johto for some time I believe. I don't know if she went back to Sinnoh," he stated.

"Thanks for the help. Bye," I replied.

"Wait! Why do you want this info?" he asked before I hung up.

"I'm interested in mythology," I responded. I did like mythology, but that's not what the call was about.

"Hmm…" is all I heard before the call was ended.

"What was the call about?" I heard Josh say behind me.

"Same thing I asked Blue about," I replied shrugging.

"I got us rooms for the night," he said rolling his eyes. "You need to do your own work," he added.

"I never asked for your help," I told him crossing my arms.

"Touché," he replied. "Catch!" he said tossing Charmander's Poké Ball at me. I caught it in my right hand and clipped it on my belt. I thanked him for healing my Pokémon and headed out for a bit. Josh said he was going to check where to put his stuff in the room. On the other hand, I walked toward the pool of water and stared at my reflection for some time. I didn't notice I was being watched until five minutes passed when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked at it instinctively, but all I saw were trees rustling. _Just my imagination_ I thought to myself rolling my eyes. Though, I swear that I could hear laugh from yesterday. I shook my head and decided to head into the Pokémon Center to prepare for the night.

On the way to my room, Josh said, "You're not from here, are you?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked wondering if he knew I wasn't from this world. _He doesn't know, does he?_ _I never told him_ I thought paranoid.

"Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out? You're not from Kanto. Where are you from? Sinnoh, Johto, Hoenn?" he replied shrugging. I let out a relieved sigh. He didn't know.

"You're right; I'm from, err… Sinnoh," I lied. He seemed to have bought it and moved on.

"Cool. I heard it's a nice place," he said before heading to his room. "It's already 8 'o clock, I'm getting some rest," Josh stated heading to his room. "Your room is over there," he told me pointing to a room at the end of the hallway and tossing the key to me.

"Thanks for the info!" I said to him catching the key. I unlocked the door to find a fairly small room with a few beds. Of course, most of the beds were for the trainer's Pokémon leaving only two human sized ones. I let my Charmander out with a smile. "Hey buddy, we're going to spend our first night together," I said to him. "That was a really great battle against Josh earlier," I told him smiling. Charmander seemed pleased at this. "Say, you're going to need a name, aren't you?" I asked. He responded enthusiastically with a series of repeated syllables from his name. "How about… Alexander?" I asked referring to Alexander the Great because he evolved into such a powerful Pokémon. He seemed to like that name, or at least, I assumed he did since he hadn't implied that he didn't. "A powerful name for a powerful creature," I said smiling.

"Go ahead and sleep in one of those beds," I said pointing to the small one next to my bed. Alexander nodded his head and curled up there. Before long, he was sound asleep. I smiled and stroked his head. "One day, you'll be the most powerful of them all," I said quietly as to not wake him. I got Josh's jacket off and my shoes. After making sure the room was locked, I hit the bed, falling asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. That night, I had a dream.

* * *

**A/N: Done! What could that dream be about? You'll just have to find out in the next chapter! Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and a new title will be accepted. If you like the current title, just say so. I'm having a blast writing this! If you want, review!**


	3. Chapter 2: Into the Forest

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

Chapter 2: Into the Forest

* * *

_Somewhere beyond Time_

A massive purple dragon flew through the area appearing slightly worried. _Where could the source be?_ it wondered searching for something important. Something dangerous. _There it is!_ It found the distortion. As the water-typed dragon examined the distortion, it let out a relieved sigh. _It is only minor, yet the source is odd. I must inform Arceus at once_ it thought before opening and flying through a portal linking somewhere unknown.

* * *

_The Dream_

The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there was a gentle breeze in the air. Everything was perfect. _Too perfect. _That was the second sign that this was a dream. The first and most obvious was that I was _floating_ above ground. "This is an amazing dream. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts!" I thought aloud doing summersaults and other neat tricks in the air. "This is amazing!" I shouted flying past the mountains. I made out a small fuzzy figure in the distance. _What could that be?_ I wondered trying to get closer without startling it. It let out a childish giggle. _The same one from before._

_Let's play a game!_ I heard it say. Wait, it didn't say anything. That was telepathy. Nevertheless, it sounded very innocent, very young. _Let's play tag! You're it!_ The voice exclaimed enthusiastically. I chuckled and figured it's a dream, so _why not?_ I chased it for what felt like hours. I never got a clear look at its body. I was sure I knew what it was, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Eventually, it told me, _Too slow! Our time's nearly up here. I'll be watching you!_ I looked behind me to see a bright light quickly approaching. When it got to me, the dream ended.

* * *

_In the morning..._

I opened my eyes slowly and stretched after having one of the best dreams in a while. Yawning, I checked the clock. 6: 30. Alexander was still sleeping on the floor. Quietly, I got out of bed trying not to wake my snoozing Pokémon. I looked around the room lit up by his tail. _I could've sworn I closed that window _I thought closing it. I shrugged. _Probably my imagination. _I headed to the restroom to put some water in my face shortly after. I splashed some water in my face and began to ponder. _Is this water just data?_ I wondered since my friend's machine did this to me with my game inserted. _It certainly feels real enough_ I thought rubbing some between my fingers. I shook my head and stared at my reflection. "Have I really just lived a lie this entire time?" I thought aloud. "No, that was all real," I reassured myself. I thought something was different in my reflection. I heard something break in the main room.

I rushed over there to find a broken vase. Alexander was still sleeping. _Heavy sleeper._ I looked around for the person who broke it. _Person? Now you're just getting paranoid, Cal_ I told myself. It's just faulty furniture holding it up. Seeing that no one was going to wake up for a while, I decided to lie in bed. To my displeasure, I couldn't get back to sleep. With a sigh, I looked up at the roof. _What is with that laugh I keep hearing?_ I thought. Maybe I'm just insane… No, insane people don't know they're insane, right? I sighed once more before getting my PokéDex out to pass time with it. I scanned Alexander with it, and found the PokéDex was able to tell me the level he was currently as well as his type, ability, and moves. _Convenient._ Lucky for me, Blue and his rival already completed the PokéDex for this region, so I had all the info I needed. I scrolled the regional PokéDex one by one until I heard a knock at my door. I closed the electronic device and went to answer the door. I was greeted by none other than Josh. "Mornin', bro," he said slapping me on the back.

"Good morning to you also," I replied smiling.

"Been up a while?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I was actually scrolling through this region's Poké Dex while I waited for you to get up," I told him shrugging.

"You ready to head out?" he asked seeing it was 7: 45 now.

"Yeah, let me just get Alexander."

"Who?" he asked.

"My Charmander. He was named after Alexander the Great," I stated grinning.

"Who?" he said again.

"Never mind. Just a fiction story," I lied coolly. I walked over to my Pokémon in slumber. I poked him a few times and we greeted with a scratch to the face. "Ouch," I mumbled not wanting to look weak in front of Josh by shouting. It stung, but it wasn't horrible. Alexander had an apologetic look on his face, so I said, "You're forgiven," rolling my eyes. "You can travel outside your Poké Ball today," I told him going down on my knee and offering my shoulder. He gladly jumped on. I headed for Josh again with my backpack and his jacket on. "Let's roll," I said.

"Yeah!" Josh exclaimed. "Say, you heal pretty fast," Josh commented staring at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Remember all those cuts from the other day on your face?" he asked.

"Yeah?

"Well, see for yourself," he said pulling a mirror out of his bag.

"Whoa," I said. He was right; all those cuts were near gone. Not even scabs anymore, just thin lines of lighter skin where they were. "Amazing," I said a little curious at this.

"I can't even find your bruises," he commented. I checked and he was right. In fact, I didn't even feel like I had fallen over a hundred meters out of the sky two days ago. Of course, I the worst part was negated due to the mysterious being that intervened when I was about to go head first into the dirt.

"You know, I should be dead about now," I told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"I'll explain once we're on the road," I replied taking my room key and locking the door. We both turned our keys in and set off for the next city. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. Figuring it was just paranoia, I moved on. Once we got to the North exit, we were stopped by an old man who didn't let us through because it was "private property". I groaned seeing this. His granddaughter apologized for his behavior explaining that he hadn't had his coffee. "Fan-effin'-tastic," I said shaking my head. Suddenly, I remembered that Blue said Cynthia was in Johto. _But you can't go through unless you have all 8 gym badges no doubt_ I thought remembering the guard not letting you through to Kanto in the games unless that requirement was met. _Wouldn't hurt to ask_ I told myself. "Is the Johto region accessible?" I asked Josh. He thought a moment.

"Nope," he replied shrugging. "The guard won't let you through unless you have all of Kanto's badges," he added. "I tried once before," he admitted. I sighed, and we waited for the old man to get his coffee. It took some time, but he got it eventually.

"Sorry about that, boys!" he said apologetically. "I was once an expert in catching Pokémon you know," he told us after a moment of silence. "I taught our former champion how to catch them," he added proudly. "Silent boy… No one's heard from him in a while," he mumbled in thought.

"Thanks for letting us through!" I exclaimed dragging Josh to route 2 before the old man could change his mind about letting us through. We were quickly on the route and continued traveling.

"So, you were saying in the Pokémon center?" Josh said raising an eyebrow.

"What are you-Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot," I replied. "I'll give you the short version. Basically, I was falling at a very quick speed even after I crashed through all those branches, don't ask why, and I would have died hitting the ground at the speed I was going. Centimeters away from the dirt, I found myself floating due to some psychic energy from a Pokémon no doubt. I don't recall there ever being psychic types on Route 1 though," I explained.

"Well, there aren't any psychic types on that route," he said. "Thank your lucky stars that you're alive," he added. "Anyway, we should train."

"Great idea!" I shouted enthusiastically. "If we are in trouble, we yell, sound good?" I asked. He nodded. We separated, and it wasn't long before I ran into a Pidgey. "Excellent. Go Alexander!" I exclaimed. He jumped off my shoulder ready for battle. "Scratch!" I commended him. He nodded and run up to the Pidgey executing the move perfectly. The now angry Pidgey responded with gust. "Roll out of the way!" I shouted. He did so with ease. "Scratch again!" I said confidently. He got the Pidgey right in the face. It responded with Gust before Alexander could move backward. He was hit, but still had plenty of energy. "One more scratch should do it!" I shouted. I was right and the Pidgey fainted after the last one. "Nice work!" I said congratulating him.

"Char Char!" he said proudly.

"Ready for more?" I asked. He replied enthusiastically, and we trained until Alexander was level eight before we went to find Josh again. I found Josh finishing a battle up.

"Bubble!" Josh commanded. I watched Squirtle let out a stream of bubbles at the Pidgey causing damage. "Now's my chance!" he said throwing a Poké Ball at it. The ball hit Pidgey's head and sucked the Pokémon in. It shook. _One time. Two times. Three times._ _DING_ went the ball implying it was caught.

"Ready to move on to Viridian Forest?" I asked. He nodded putting the ball on his belt. "Nice catch by the way," I told him. He thanked me before we headed into the bug infested forest hoping to be in and out of there quickly. "This forest will be a breeze with Alexander here," I said grinning. "He is a fire type after all," I boasted now that he knew ember. Almost without warning, it started to drizzle.

"Well, that explains the clouds in the air. Nice job jinxing it," Josh said. "We need to get cover. _Now!_" he commanded running off. I grabbed Alexander and hurried after him as it started to pour down hard. Eventually, we spotted a hollowed tree. "Perfect!" he shouted heading to it. We both got in to keep dry. "Cal, will you keep your hand off of my back," Josh told me angrily.

"What are you talking about? I'm right here," I asked crouching a good meter from him. He noticed this and gulped.

"Then who is-" He started screaming in pain and glowing. I simply watched unable to comprehend what was happening. I watched him unsure of what to do for a few moments. Something clicked. He was being electrocuted!

"This place is probably a Pikachu's home. It's acting out of self-defense!" I said as Josh stopped glowing. Even though his hair was hilarious, there was no time to laugh now. I grabbed his shirt collar and began dragging him out. "Light this place up with a small ember," I told Alexander. He did and what I saw surprised me. There were at least 10 Pikachu visible and incredibly angry. "_Crap._"

The all used thundershock at once at me. I instinctively rolled out of the way and threw Josh's unconscious body out. "We have some seriously ticked off Pikachu!" I shouted at Alexander. "Use Ember to create a distraction!" I exclaimed in panic. He nodded and let out a massive amount of fire. "Thanks, buddy," I mumbled returning him to his Poké Ball. I hoisted Josh over my shoulder with some difficulty and ran from that stump. I stopped under a tree with thick layers of leaves, so rain didn't fall through. I shivered from the cold. Josh was still knocked out. A little worried, I checked his pulse, still there. I sighed with relief and waited for him to come back. I paced back and forth impatiently. It was a little foggy, sp visibility was limited.

In the distance, I noticed the blacj silhouette of something small. It appeared to be beckoning me to follow. After making sure Josh was safe by the tree, I debated whether to follow. After a few moments of thinking, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to leave my backpack with Josh. That way, he would know I am close. I nodded to the figure and it flew further into the woods. I ran to catch up. We went deeper and deeper into the woods. I began to debate on just giving up after five minutes of chase when it made _that_ laugh. Now, I _had_ to find out what it was. I ran after it frantically, but it was too fast for me. Eventually, I grew tired of chasing it. Sighing, I turned around to head back when I realized something. _I'm lost._

"Just great," I mumbled. "How am I ever going to-" My PokéGear started ringing. _Ha! I forgot about that_ I thought answering it. "Hello?"

"Dude! Where in the world are you?!" Josh asked me.

"In a foggy area…" I replied.

"You don't say?" he replied sarcastically.

"Hey! I'm the sarcastic one around here," I said jokingly.

"Just hurry back! I woke up to several Caterpie rummaging through our bags! Half of our food was in eaten!" he shouted angrily.

"Well, I'm lost…" I admitted. I heard a sigh on the other side of the line.

"What happened anyway?" he asked.

"I was, err..." I stopped. "It's complicated," I added.

"You better start talking," Josh replied.

"How about a deal," I suggested.

"I'm listening."

"If you can find me, I might tell you," I told him.

After some silence, he responded with one word. "_Fine,_" he said before hanging up. I shook my head and put the PokéGear away. _At least it stopped raining_ I thought noting my silent surroundings. I sighed and headed off in a random direction hoping it was the correct way to Josh. I wandered for a few minutes before stopping to take a break. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

"Hello, kid," a voice said to me. Only one thing registered in my mind at that moment. _That's not Josh._

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhanger! I was extremely busy this week, so this is shorter than I wanted it to be. Oh well. This would have been up sooner, but word went decided to go i2cool4u #YOLO and crashed a hundred times. If you have any ideas for a new title or even the plot, I'm always open to them!**


	4. Chapter 3: Regroup

___Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

Chapter 3: Regroup

* * *

"I said let go of me!" I shouted struggling against the men's grips.

"Shut up, kid! Or else I'll _make_ you!" one of the men in black uniforms shouted at me as they dragged me along. I sighed as I remembered how I got into this mess. I was searching for Josh to regroup after I ran off when one of these idiots grabbed me by the shoulder, and anyone can figure the rest out. Regardless, I continued struggling for my freedom to no avail. "Look, kid, I don't know _why_ the boss wants you, but quit struggling for the last time!" the guy said sounding extremely annoyed.

"Never!" I shouted back elbowing one of the men in the chest.

"Now you've done it!" the one I elbowed said furiously. He dropped a Poké Ball revealing a yellow and brown Pokémon with a trunk. "Drowzee! Use Hypnosis!" he commanded. The Drowzee began making gestures with its hands. My vision starting going in and out, and my eyelids were barely able to stay up. After only 30 seconds of fighting the inevitable, I succumbed to the hypnosis.

"Yes, I know why our superior wants him," I heard a female voice say maybe a meter from me. Deciding to play it safe, I pretended to still be asleep.

"Why won't you tell us?" another man asked.

"You two won't stop bothering me until I tell you, will you? Fine. The boss believes that he has a connection with legendary Pokémon or at least that he is a reliable source to find one of 'em. The boss ain't certain about which legendary however," the female replied plainly irritated.

"Wow..." is the only response I heard.

"Now quit lollygagging and get back to the mission!" the female commanded. Seeing that this was my chance to escape, I opened my eyes and sharply jerked my arm, which my captor was unprepared for. He let go causing me to fall to the ground.

"Idiots! Constrain him!" the female exclaimed caught off guard. Instinctively, I went for my Poké Ball, but it wasn't there. "Looking for something?" she asked twirling my Poké Ball on her finger. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't dare touch a woman, but these weren't normal circumstances, were they? I tackled her to the ground causing her to drop Alexander's ball. "Get off'a me!" the woman screeched pushing me off. Before the female could do anything, I rolled to Alexander's Poké Ball and scooped it up. One of the men got in my way, but I kneed him in the groin and took off in a random direction. "Get him!" the commander shouted. The two males gave chase, but I was too fast for them. After 5 minutes of not hearing footsteps behind me, I finally stopped with a triumphant smirk on my face. That smirk didn't last long because I realized something. I was lost... _Again. _I checked the Poké Gear, which had been turned off, hoping for a map, but there was no map card installed to my dismay. I sighed and looked at the sky. It was about sunset, so Josh should still be awake. I called him.

_Riiing... Riiing... Riiing... Click!_

"Where in the world are you?" Josh's voice said from the phone.

"I don't know still..." I replied.

"I thought you were dead or something! You could have called after disappearing!" he shouted.

"I ran into some trouble..."

"What kind?"

"Criminals presumably."

"Are you still in the forest?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure," I replied.

"Since it'll be too dark to search soon, how about we meet at the exit. It's North of the forest. See you there!" he said and before I could answer-

_Click_

I sighed and put the device down. I thought about what I heard. _What would a legendary want with me?_ I thought. _Probably nothing important, Right? No, that doesn't make any sense..._ I argued with myself. I sighed and headed North using the Sun as a guide since it sets in the West. Not like I have a sleeping bag to sleep on anyway I thought planning to go through the forest all night if I had to. _Maybe that Hypno putting me to sleep wasn't such a bad thing._

Before I knew it, the sun had set, and I was guided by Alexander's flame. "Thanks for the help, buddy," I murmured to him.

He responded with a soft, "Char," and kept walking ahead of me. I've always had a bit of unease when walking at night and jumped whenever I heard a noise. Half the time, the noise was just a Caterpie or Weedle, making me glad Josh wasn't around to see this. I would have been embarrassed about acting like a scaredy cat. Though, I swear I could hear Alexander snicker. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched; however, I usually have this when walking at night. Enough on that. The walk there was pretty uneventful and took several hours, so Alexander hopped on my shoulder halfway there. By the time I got to the building, which was thankfully lit up, I was exhausted. I leaned on the wall of the building to rest for a second and slid down to a sitting position planning to get up in a minute. Before I knew it, I was out like a light.

I awoke to the sun shining in my eyes causing me to shield them with my arm. The time seemed to be about 9 'o clock judging by the sun's position. I almost got up before I noticed something on me. Looking down revealed it to be my Charmander who was sound asleep. I smiled and stroked his scales gently as not to wake him. _Must've been tuckered out from staying up over half the night._ I returned him to his Poké Ball so he could rest a bit better. Josh should be here soon I thought leaning against the wall with my arms crossed. Now that the sun was out, I felt much safer being able to see any potential threats. I looked up at the trees to look at the rays of sunlight. I might not be a nature person, but I had to admit the forest looked beautiful. I looked up to see a bit of rustling from the leaves above me. If not for that warning, I would have been hit square on the head with the nut that fell. Luckily, I dodged it narrowly. "Phew. That was close," I thought aloud. "What's the big idea!" I shouted up angrily. I heard rustling moving further away, but I decided not to give chase after the _last_ time my curiosity got the best of me.

"Seems like you beat me," I heard a familiar voice say behind me without warning causing me to jump in surprise. "Heh heh, someone is scared easily," Josh said tapping my shoulder.

"Just paranoid," I replied turning around to see my friend. "So, we going to Pewter or what?" I said heading into the building that signified the end of the forest. Josh nodded and followed though I could tell he was going to say more. Next stop, Pewter City.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for being late and the chapter being short! I was busy this week, so I didn't get to work on this too much. More progress will be made next chapter, so don't worry.**


	5. Chapter 4: Pewter City

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

Chapter 4: Pewter City

* * *

"Pewter isn't too far now!" Josh shouted enthusiastically. "Brock will be a piece of cake with Squirtle here," he said tossing Squirtle's Poké Ball up and down. "Anyway, you were going to tell me something," Josh commented putting the Poké Ball back on his belt.

"Right," I replied. "Remember how I said that psychic type saved me from certain death?" I asked. Josh nodded. "Well, I heard a high-pitched laugh, and I keep hearing it," I explained. "It even followed me into one of my dreams. So, I heard the laugh come from a silhouette in the forest while you were knocked out, and I decided to give chase. After a while, I gave up and was lost, so I ended up captured by men in black uniforms," I said. "Here is where is gets odd. I over heard their conversation. Apparently, I'm connected to a legendary Pokémon, so they wanted to use me as bait I'm guessing," I added. "I managed to escape, and that is up to the point I called you yesterday," I finished. Josh stood there with a skeptical look on his face. "I'm telling the truth!" I shouted.

"I believe you," he said after a moment he added causing me to sigh with obvious relief. "You seem mentally stable because, if you told me this when I first met, I would have thought you were insane," he added. "So, why would a legendary want you?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said looking at my feet nervously.

"Dude, I can tell you're lying. Spill it," Josh told me.

"Fine... You see, I'm from this world... I am from an alternate universe," I replied.

"What do you mean?" he asked. He had a look on his face suggesting that he did not believe that.

"It's true! You see, in my world..." I proceeded to explain the main points about my dimension. He listened, but I doubt he believed me.

"So you're saying that this is all a game in your world, and Pokémon don't exist there either," he said looking at me skeptically.

"Basically," I replied shrugging.

"I need some time to process this," Josh said shaking his head. "Anyway, welcome to Pewter," Josh told me changing the subject. "Home of the first gym I'm going to challenge!" he added enthusiastically as if the revelations from earlier never happened. I looked at the city and had to admit it looks pretty nice. "Come on, let's go heal our Pokémon," Josh said pointing toward the nearest Pokémon Center. I nodded, and we set off toward it. The nurse kindly healed our Pokémon when we asked. "Anyway, care to train a bit?" Josh asked me as we got out the door. I thought a bit and agreed. We headed near the outside of the city and got ready. We nodded and released our first choices.

"Alexander, go!"

"Show 'em, Pidgey!" Both Pokémon landed on the ground poised for battle.

"Ember!" I commanded. Alexander nodded and let out the attack from his mouth.

"Dodge it!" I heard Josh shout, but Pidgey was too slow and got partially hit by the Ember. When it landed, it still seemed in pain. Then I noticed a great advantage I now had on the small bird Pokémon. It was burned causing me to smirk. _ Burning halves physical attacks,_ I thought confidently. "Not bad, but Pidgey, use tackle!" Josh exclaimed. _Perfect._

Alexander looked at me as if to ask whether to dodge. I shook my head, and he stood firm. Josh had a puzzled look on his face as Alexander didn't move in the least. The attack struck with half the force the, already weak, move had. "Ember now!" I shouted. Alexander immediately got my plan and roasted the Pidgey at close range causing it to faint. _Ha!_ I thought smirking.

"Not bad," Josh said returning his fallen Pidgey. "You're unprepared for this!" he exclaimed letting out his Squirtle. I shook my head and commanded Charmander to use scratch. He did so without much damage done. "Water gun," he said grinning. A large burst of water came shooting out of the water-type's mouth doing lots of damage to Alexander.

"Might as well go down fighting; keep your distance and Ember!" I commanded knowing fully well the move wouldn't be very effective. He nodded and expelled the attack. Josh simply shook his head at this and commanded his Squirtle to use Water Gun once more. "Dodge it," I said calmly. With the distance between the two battlers Alexander was able to do this easily.

"I see your strategy," Josh commented. "Squirtle, get in close and do another Water Gun!" he shouted. This time, Charmander was too slow and took the full force of the attack. Once the attack let up, he went down, fainted. "Not bad," Josh said returning his Pokémon. "Listen, I've decided to give you the benefit of the doubt," Josh told me putting a hand on my shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"The dimension of your origin," he replied rolling his eyes.

"Oh, that... Wait, you will!?" I responded jumping back in surprise.

"Yep, you've shown me that you care about your Pokémon despite being from a place where they do not exist and can clearly strategize in battle, so I'm going to believe you," he added grinning. "Come on, let's get these three healed up," Josh said gesturing to the Pokémon center. I agreed, and we both got our Pokémon healed by a nurse.

"Did you see her face? She was just like 'really?'," I said to Josh laughing.

"To be fair, we were just in there half-an hour ago," Josh replied, though I could tell he was laughing silently. "Anyway, it's about noon now," Josh commented.

"What does the time have to do with anything?" I asked him.

"I want to ask you something, Calvin. Are you actually going to challenge the gyms?" he questioned. I thought for a moment.

"Erm... Yes? If I can't get back to my world, at least I'll have a plan B to live in this world," I said after about a minute of thinking.

"Looks like we're both doing the gym challenge then. The reason the time is important is because it's probably open right now, and I want to battle him," he told me. "C'mon! Before someone else beats us to him," he said dragging me to the gym. We arrived at the entrance after a few minutes. As we were about to enter, a boy with his black and yellow hat turned backwards literally ran into me. I heard something slam to the ground near him. I looked over to see it was his badge case that had opened on impact. In it, I saw 9 badges, including the Boulder Badge. He grabbed the case, and ran off without saying anything at all.

"What was his deal?" I asked getting up and dusting myself off.

"I don't know," Josh said raising an eyebrow. "Anyway, I think he was that guy recently on the news," Josh commented.

"Why is he so important?" I asked. Though, I had to admit that he looked pretty familiar.

"Ah, yes!" my friend said snapping his fingers. "That was none other than the champion of the Indigo League," he added. "I don't remember his name though," he admitted. "Why was he in Kanto of all places?" he wondered aloud.

"I saw him with the Boulder Badge, so I'm assuming that he is challenging the Kanto gyms," I replied knowing fully well that was exactly what he was doing.

"Wow, he has gotten the title of Champion, yet he continues to challenge gyms, letting Lance keep the title," Josh commented. "Anyway, let's get into the gym!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. I nodded and followed my friend. "So this is what Pewter has got to offer, eh?" Josh said looking around. It looked amazing seeing it up close. _This looks so detailed compared to the games, yet the layout is the same,_ I thought looking around. "Well, I'm going to challenge Brock!" he said walking straight up to the Gym Leader in the distance. Oddly enough, the trainers in the gym made no move to challenge him. _Probably because the protagonist just beat him_ I thought relieved I would not have to battle them.

"Lucky my last challenger took care of those trainers," the man with the orange shirt said as we walked up to him. "Now, which one of you am I going to battle?" the tanned man asked.

"I will!" Josh shouted excitedly. I planned to let him go first anyway.

"You're enthusiastic I'll give you that," the leader said grinning. "Say, how many badges do you have?" he asked my friend.

"None," Josh replied simply.

"I'll assume you're from Pallet town or Viridian city. Anyway, I have different teams depending on how many badges my challenger has," he explained. "I'm Brock," the man said getting to his side of the battle field and pointing at himself. "I'm Pewter's Gym Leader. My rock-hard willpower is evident even in my Pokémon. My Pokémon are all rock hard, and have true-grit determination. That's right - my Pokémon are all the Rock type! Fuhaha! You're going to challenge me knowing that you'll lose? That's the Trainer's honor that compels you to challenge me. Fine, then! Show me your best!" Brock exclaimed. I simply sat back and watched chuckling. The battle was initiated. Brock crouched down and slammed a Pokéball onto the ground. _Reminds me of his sprite in the games_ I thought grinning. By this time, I had accepted that, though I was presumably transferred here by my HeartGold, this was an entirely different dimension that merely had similarities to the game. Brock sent out a Geodude. In response, Josh sent his Pidgey out. _ This is going to be good._

* * *

**A/N: Done on-time! In the next chapter, Josh takes on the 1st gym of Kanto, but will he be victorious? Find out in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 5: Nightmare

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 5: Nightmare**

* * *

"You realize this is the rock-type gym, right?" the Gym Leader asked noting Josh's choice of Pokémon. Josh nodded. "Very well; Geodude, use Defense Curl!" Brock commanded. His Pokémon nodded and upped it's defensiveness. Immediately, I saw what his strategy would more than likely be. _ He's going to up his defense until Josh's attacks do near nothing. Hope you see this too, Josh._

"Pidgey! Sand-Attack, now!" Josh exclaimed from the other side of the battle field. Pidgey complied and used its wings to throw lots of sand and dust at the Geodude's eyes, reducing the accuracy of the opponent's moves.

"Geodude, Tackle!" Brock shouted in response. The rock Pokémon rushed toward Pidgey, but missed due to the sand in its eyes. Josh responded by commanding his Pidgey to use Gust. Pidgey sent a bunch of air under the Geodude, damaging the Leader's Pokémon. "Let's try another Tackle!" Brock commanded before Pidgey could distance itself. Geodude managed to get a hit in this time, right on Pidgey's head. The hit appeared to be critical, and Pidgey was down for the count.

"Good job, Pidgey," Josh said returning his fallen bird Pokémon. "Not bad, but you're going to have to do better than that to beat me!" Josh shouted throwing a Poké Ball down to reveal his Squirtle.

"Nice to see you've still got plenty of energy," Brock commented. "Let's keep going!" Brock exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Now, Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Josh commanded pointing at the Geodude. Squirtle built up the move in his mouth and expelled it with great force at his opponent.

"Defense Curl, Geodude!" Brock yelled a few seconds before the Water Gun hit. The Geodude braced for impact, and took the attack, though heavily damaged as a result of the super-effective move. Brock chuckled and used a super potion, healing his Geodude.

"WHAT!" Josh shouted in surprise at the move that Brock made.

"I'm allowed one super potion per Pokémon in these circumstances," Brock explained. "However, that counts as my turn, so it's not unfair to the challenger," he added.

"Whatever, Water Gun again!" Josh exclaimed. The Geodude attempted to dodge, but was hit directly.

"Geodude, tackle!" Brock commanded pointing at the small Turtle Pokémon. Squirtle was struck by the rock-type, but wasn't seriously hurt.

"One more Water Gun should do it!" Josh shouted grinning. The Geodude was out of the battle after the hit.

"Haha! Your attacks itch!" Brock exclaimed returning his fainted Pokémon. "Go, Onix!" A large rock snake came from the small red and white ball. "Rock Tomb, Onix!" Brock commanded. The rock snake began lobbing large boulders at the small water-type.

"Squirtle! Get out of there!" Josh shouted. His Pokémon, however, was too scared to move and was hit by the attack. "Squirtle!" Josh shouted worried for his Pokémon. The water-type jumped out of the boulders a little harmed but still had energy to fight. "Good. Water gun," Josh said with relief in his voice. The rock-type was struck and took heavy damage.

"Onix, use another rock tomb!" Brock yelled. This time, Squirtle wasn't paralyzed with fear and dodged it narrowly due to the general lower accuracy of that move compared to others.

"Water Gun again!" Josh commanded. Squirtle began building up water in its mouth and expelled it with great force.

"Reduce it with Harden!" Brock shouted. The attack was critical and slammed Onix into the wall of the gym, unconscious. The Gym Leader returned the rock/ground-type smiling. "I took you for granted, and so I lost. As proof of your victory, I confer on you this...the official Pokémon League Boulder Badge," Brock said walking up to my friend and handing him the badge.

"Thanks!" Josh exclaimed swiping the badge from Brock's hand. "You were tough; thanks for the battle," Josh said putting the badge in his case.

"You earned it," Brock told my friend grinning and handing him 1400 PokéDollars. "Now, I need to heal my Pokémon, so I'll head to the Pokémon Center," the tanned man said taking 7 Poké Balls. "Since you've gotta go there too, where are you from, kid?" Brock asked.

"Pallet town," my friend replied shrugging.

"Heh, we haven't had a challenger from there in three years," Brock commented. "Anyway, is your friend over there up for the challenge?" the Leader asked pointing at me.

"Yeah I am," I said getting up to congratulate Josh with a friendly slap on the back. "I'll be honest, I thought-urgh." I suddenly had a great headache, and I put my hands to my head.

"You okay there, Cal?" Josh asked looking at me with concern.

"I-I'm fine," I lied trying to wave him away. "Don't worr-" I fell to my knees. Suddenly, my entire body went numb, and the last thing I saw before my vision faded out was Josh and Brock running toward me.

* * *

"Urgh..." I groaned sitting up and opening my eyes. "What happened?" I said to no one in particular looking around the room. The first thing thas struck me was that there were no other people other than me in the grey room. Instinctively, I reached for my Poké Ball to find it wasn't at my side as usual. I walked over to the door and reached for the gold doorknob. Turning the know slowly, I opened the door. I stepped out onto the middle of Pewter City's street. The city seemed normal except for one thing. _It's empty._ I looked behind me to find the room I was just in wasn't there. There was no sign of the door I just came out of. _Creepy_ I thought walking through the streets void of any life. All the buildings were locked, including the gym. "What's going on?" I wondered out loud knocking on one of the doors. No answer. I sighed and began to walk on the streets.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. At first, it was as if it was a small earthquake, but it quickly become more violent. The street began to slowly crack and split into two pieces. In the middle of the street at the time, I threw myself onto one of the sides. After lifting myself from the ground, I looked behind myself to see a large figure floating above the crack. I couldn't make out any of the details other than its glowing red eyes. I gulped and took a few steps back. The figure chuckled.

_Your fear amuses me,_ it told me raising an arm. _Now let's see your pain!_ It moved its arm to the side quickly, slamming my body into a wall. I groaned in pain. _Haha! You humans are so much fun to play with!_ it shouted flinging me to the floor. I struggled to stand up. _Hmm? What to do next... Ah! I know!_ it said chuckling darkly. I took a step back only to be lifted high into the air. I gulped. _Have a nice flight,_ it told me dropping my body. I accelerated quickly and began closing my eyes.

_No, not this time,_ I told myself snapping my eyes open. _I've done this before, and I can't let fear overtake me now,_ I thought ready to face the ground. It came closer. And closer. Closer. The dark figure was laughing. Almost there. Without warning, an unknown force created a ball of pink energy for me to land on. It was very soft and quickly dissipated after I landed on it. _What in the world?_ I wondered dusting myself off.

_Not you again!_ I heard my torturer yell.

_Messing with humans' dreams again I see,_ an unfamiliar voice responded.

_How did you find me?_

_With a little help from them,_ the other voice said. I looked up to see what the creature was referring to. To my surprise, it was a small being in a ball of psychic power. The same color that saved me from falling. It waved and did that same laugh that has been following me since I got here.

_Listen, human, you need to leave, now. This isn't an ordinary nightmare. I you were to die here, you would not wake up, ever,_ the voice told me. _Now leave me to deal with my enemy. Find the weak point to this fake world and touch it to leave. You, help him, _it said referring to my savior. The small creature nodded and flew off, gestering for me to follow. Seeing as this was my best bet escaping, I followed.

The being and I traveled the empty city for what felt like hours. After a while my guide stopped. I stared at it, trying to get a good look at its features. Though it was too dark to make out details, I could tell that it was somewhat cat-like with rather large feet compared to the rest of its body and had a long tail. _You're still slow. No wonder you lost that game of tag, _it told me letting a small laugh out. Confused, I was about to ask what it meant when I remembered that dream I had.

"That was you?" I asked stepping back. "Wait... Small cat-like appearance, large feet, playful nature... You're-"

_Mew,_ it finished for me. _I thought you wound never figure it out_, it said. _Also, yes I've been following you, _ittold me as if it read my mind.

"We'll, why?" I asked as we started to move forward.

_Simple, I can tell you aren't any ordinary human,_ it replied.

"I suppose you're the one that saved me then," I commented. Mew nodded in response. "Thank you for saving my life though you knew nothing about me," I told my guide.

_You're just lucky I was there. If not... I prefer not to think about it. I hate death, _the small Pokémon replied. Mew and I walked for a few more minutes. _You know, I bet we could cover a lot more ground flying, _Mew commented noting my slow progress. _It's a shame this isn't your dream because humans ones are so much easier to manipulate..._

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked keeping my head down as I tried to think of what to tell Josh once I woke up.

_I mean, this was originally your Dream world, but Darkrai has turned it into his own. You have no control over it and us Legendaries have small amounts of control,_ Mew responded.

"So, what was with the comment about flying then?" I questioned kicking a rock.

_Well, I could grant you the ability to fly, but it comes with a small catch... Humans generally do not accept it though, _the small creature replied.

"What is this 'condition'?" I asked slowing my pace.

_You see, while I normally can grant the ability to fly in your human form, my powers here do not permit that. So, the only way would be to..._

"Go on."

_Would be to change your dream form temporarily,_ Mew finished.

"What is a dream form?" I questioned raising an eyebrow.

_Wow, you ask a lot of questions. Basically, your dream form is the body you take on in your dreams. Usually, it is simply the body from the physical world, though, I can change yours here because you were not altered by Darkrai's powers, unlike most things in this nightmare, _the legendary Pokémon replied.

"For how long?"

_Tough to say. I've never done this before since everyone refuses, though I highly doubt it would be permanent. This is one-hundred percent safe as far as your survival goes. So, are you up to it?_ Mew told me.

I thought for a few minutes before saying, "I'll do it."

_Are you absolutely sure? I cannot reverse this until it wears off on its own,_ the being questioned.

"I'm sure," I confirmed. "Besides, you saved my life, twice, so the least I can do is nothing. However, I'm not that kind of guy, so I'll be your little lab rat for to repay one of those favors," I added with a serious look in my eyes.

_Very well, Calvin. Hold still, and this shouldn't hurt,_ Mew told me closing its eyes to focus. I took a deep breath and prepared for what was coming. I put a smirk on my face.

"I'm ready."


	7. Chapter 6: Waking Up

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Waking Up**

* * *

Suddenly, I felt an enormous amount of pain, causing me to drop to my knees. "I-I thought you said this wouldn't hurt!" I shouted between groans of agony. The small creature simply laughed menacingly.

_Hold it!_ a voice shouted. I looked up toward the source of the voice to find yet another Mew. The recently arrrived Mew(let's call this Mew B) suddenly sent an attack toward the Mew(and this one A) near me. To my surprise, Mew A deflected the attack easily. Before I could get up, the Mew A teleported up to its twin and scratched it. In retaliation, Mew B starting charging up an attack. This seemed to be just what Mew A wanted.

It simply absorbed the attack to the surprise of the other Mew. Without warning, Mew A whipped around and fired the attack at me! I stumbled back, trying to avoid the attack, but I was too slow. The beam hit, yet I didn't feel anything. Well, any more pain than I was already recovering from. My attacker simply laughed before vansishing.

"Wh-what just happened?" I asked getting up shakily.

_That was one of Darkrai's creations, _Mew told me coming closer.

"How do I know that you're not just another of his creations?" I asked standing firmly.

_Would his creation do this?_ Mew asked starting to glow. I tried backing away, but felt a soothing feeling wash over me when it happened, erasing any signs of pain. _Anyway, I had lost you, since you're so slow walking rather than flying like me!_ Mew said doing a summersault in the air.

"Yep, you're definitely Mew," I commented chuckling lightly. Suddenly, Mew gained a very serious look on it's face.

_Look, I don't know what his creation did to you, but I doubt it was nothing. Watch yourself carefully; a creation tricked a human into its plot before and..._ the Pokémon stopped talking. I raised an eyebrow and decided that I didn't want to anger this legendary creature by making it talk about things it clearly did not want to go into further detail.

_Forgive me, but I must follow you since you are very... different. I need to make sure you do not cause disturbances. Yes, I know that your origin is not of this world. Most people would have been put into a coma after encountering a creation's attacks, yet you did not. Do not tell your friend about me, _Mew told me in the most serious tone I had heard from it so far.

"No need to be so serious," I replied chuckling a bit. Mew looked at me oddly.

_I would have expected a different response from you, _is all Mew said before flying away to look for the weak point once more. After what felt like hours of walking, Mew stopped. _Here we are. Remember what I have told you. Fend for yourself. Become stronger. I might be able to help you return to your world. Just maybe..._ the pink creature said gesturing to a completely white area of the dream. I nodded and reached my hand out to touch it.

Without warning, the ground began to shake. _Ha ha ha! Your resistance is futile! _Darkrai yelled, seeming to have bested Mew's partner. I began turning around, but I was suddenly pushed into the weak area of the dream. Everything I saw faded into white, and I felt the familiar sensation of falling.

* * *

When I landed, my eyes shot open. "Look, he's only been out for a few hours; he is fine," Josh's voice said from somewhere nearby. I began to sit up, not feeling harmed in the slightest. I looked around to observe my surroundings. It appeared to be the room I slept in. Josh was nearby, and he had his back turned to me.

"Who ya talkin' with?" I asked Josh chuckling.

"He's awake, gotta go," my friend told the person on the line and hung up quickly. "Nobody," he replied simply. "Anyway, welcome back, Cal," he added grinning. "You've been out for a while. What happened?" Josh asked.

"Err, I don't know why I was KO'd," I told him turning my body and putting my feet on the ground. It was the truth, and not telling the whole truth isn't the same as lying, right? "Anyway, I'm ready to get out of bed," I commented.

"You sure? You did hit the ground pretty hard," he asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sure," I replied putting a hand behind my head. I felt some cloth and realized that was probably wrapped around my head to cover any cuts.

"If you say so," Josh said shrugging. I grabbed my bag and began heading out. "I nearly forgot. Catch!" Josh shouted from behind me. Before I knew it, I had whipped around and caught the item thrown at me with ease. _What just happened?_ I thought putting my arm down. "Woah, nice reflexes!" my friend complimented me. I simply nodded and looked at what he had thrown. It was Alexander's ball. "I hope you don't mind, but I trained him a bit," Josh informed me.

"I trust you, so I don't mind," I told him grinning. "Anyway, are we getting out of this building or what?" I asked.

"For someone who was unconscious for 3 hours, you have a lot of energy," Josh commented laughing.

"One thing, Josh," I said going closer to him. He looked a little puzzled. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Tag; you're it!" I tapped his shoulder and ran away as fast as I could from him, giggling like a child.

Josh was confused. His friend had never shown any interest for games that weren't digital. He sighed and decided to give chase for reasons he wouldn't tell.

I beat my friend outside the doors. He burst out a few minutes after. "My goodness you are sloooow!" I told Josh crossing my arms. "I thought you'd be better at ta-" I stopped myself. Why was I playing games with Josh that I hadn't played since I was five? Its probably nothing, right? "I'm sorry; I don't know what got into me," I said to my friend a little embarrassed by my behavior.

"You sure that you're okay? One moment ago, you were giggling like a child who just got ice cream," Josh asked with concern.

My eyes lit up at the mention of the frozen desert, but I held my emotions back. I wasn't going to make a fool of myself two times within ten minutes. "I am fine," I assured him. "Anyway, I'm going to get my badge if you don't mind," I said walking in the general direction of the gym.

"Fine, get it over with quickly," Josh told me sighing. I grinned, and we headed toward the gym. We got there in a matter of minutes. Upon our entrance Brock noticed us.

"Welcome to-Oh, you two are back so soon. So, Cal, you've recovered from than little incident?" the Leader asked. I nodded in response. "Good, because this battle isn't going to be easy!" Brock exclaimed confidently.

"Where's the fun with no challenge?" I replied smirking.

"Listen, I'm in a hurry, so I'll let you past the gym trainers this one time. I have something to investigate," Brock told me.

As we walked toward the battle field, a camper shouted. "You are light-years away from Brock!" He was simply ignored. Once we arrived, I let Alexander out.

"A fire type, eh? Looks like you're already at a disadvantage! Go Geodude!" Brock shouted letting the rock Pokémon out. The battle ensued.

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"I am sorry, but I have failed the mission," a female said.

"You idiot! How hard can it be to capture one kid?!" a superior shouted back. "We even lent you a Drowzee, yet you still managed to screw it up!" he added. "This is the last failure from you, missy!"

"N-no, you don't mean-"

"You have been demoted to the rank of Grunt. Thanks to your screwup, we Executives have to think of alternatives on how to get our boss to return from his solo training after being thwarted by that ten year old. You are dismissed, Grunt," the voice said with anger in his voice.

"Y-yes sir!" the woman replied running out of the room.

"Grr... The boss will never come back at this rate. I think it's time for a more.. Direct approach," the man said pressing a button. "Secretary, call our regular Bounty Hunter," he told his worker. His secretary agreed and hung up. "That kid will regret messing with Team Rocket."

* * *

"One more attack should do it!" I shouted at my fire-type.

"Onix! Harden!" Brock retaliated. The rock snake braced itself for the next attack. Alexander ran up to the Leader's Pokémon. Expecting him to use scratch, I was astonished when he instead used a different one. His claw turned metallic and struck Onix, dealing enough damage to knock out the rock-type. "Return," Brock said putting the Onix back into its ball.

"We won! Nice work Alexander!" I exclaimed beaming at my partner. He was looking at me with a weirded out look on his face. That was when I realized that I had been jumping with glee. I stopped myself and said, "Sorry, I lost control of myself."

"That behavior aside, I award you with this badge," he told me smiling. Brock presented the badge, and I took it happily.

"Nice job, bro," Josh complimented me with a slap on the back.

"Thanks, both of you," I said smiling.

"Here, I bought it while you were out cold," my friend told me pulling a badge case out.

"You shouldn't have," I replied putting my BoulderBadge in.

"They're dirt cheap nowadays, so I figured you'd need one after you won," he responded shrugging.

"You two can try your luck at Cerulean city against the tomboyish mermaid, Misty," Brock said to the both of us. Josh and I nodded, I thanked him for the battle, and we left. After healing our Pokémon, we set on the road once more.

After some walking, Josh stopped and said, "I nearly forgot, you needed one of these," pulling an electronic card out. "It's a map card, so you don't get lost again, ya know?"

"Oh, thanks," I replied taking it and installing it on my Poké Gear. Josh smirked and kept moving.

We kept moving until we found Mt. Moon. I volunteered to go first, and Josh agreed. Upon entering the cave, the first things heard were the sounds of a battle. Josh and I headed for the source. When we reached it, the two of us stopped to observe.

The two battlers were some red haired guy and someone familiar. It was that same person I bumped into when I first entered the gym. The guy with nine badges. Josh and I moved on from the battle before long. We had already been traveling for hours and needed to get out of this mountain to rest.

After many, many Zubat encounters, we got out. "Yeesh, how many Zobat can be in one cave?" I commented upon emerging from the cave.

"I know, right?" Josh agreed. "We should probably set up camp," he suggested noting the moon's position.

"Agreed," I replied. We began setting camp up. Once it was set up, Josh and I fell asleep.

...

"Rocket quarters, this is bounty hunter Alpha, the target is in sight. Preparing to engage the target," his voice said.

"Excellent, you will be paid handsomely for this if you pull it off flawlessly," headquarters responded.

"Heh heh, sweet dreams, boy. They'll be your last."


	8. Chapter 7: Capture and Escape

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Capture and Escape**

* * *

"Come in, Alpha. This is headquarters, what is your status? Over," a voice on the man's radio asked.

"Copy that, HQ. I have advanced on the target and the objective is in range," the bounty hunter replied in a hushed voice.

"Good. If you can deliver him by sunset, my superiors have offered to double your pay. Over," Rocket HQ responded.

"Affirmative. Am I authorized to use force?" Alpha asked grinning.

"Wait," headquarters said in response. A few minutes passed before they responded, "Do whatever necessary. Rocket headquarters out." The bounty hunter let out a quiet laugh.

"This is too easy," he whispered to himself smirking as he crept up on the two sleeping boys. "Let's see, these two are trainers no doubt. Or at least they own Pokémon," the rather large man mumbled walking closer. He looked at a picture headquarters provided him with of the target. Quietly, Alpha detached the boy's Poké Balls and left them on the grass. If there was one thing he learned in his career, it was to never allow captives access to their defense as they will try to grab it at all costs. The Alpha scratched his beard with his black gloved hands. Suddenly, an idea came to him. Gently, he lifted the objective out of the sleeping bag and set him on the floor nearby. He quietly put the both of the boys' backpacks in the sleeping bag.

"That'll buy me a few minutes," he thought aloud zipping the bag up. The bounty hunter flinched when the other boy moved in his sleep. Letting out a sigh of relief, he slung the target over his shoulder and crept away. It hadn't even looked like he was at the camp after covering his tracks. Alpha let out his Pidgeot once he was a good twenty minutes away from camp. "Pidgeot, to Celadon," he whispered. The large bird nodded and allowed its master to climb on. After making sure its master was on securely, the bird Pokémon set off.

After several hours of flying, the three arrived in the city. Alpha returned his Pidgeot to its ball and made sure the objective was still sleeping. The man let the sleeping boy inhale a gas that would ensure he was knocked out for a good few more hours. The man simply shook his head. "Come in Rocket HQ," he whispered taking refuge in one of the alleys. It was still the early hours of day, so many people were not up, but he knew at least one person was roaming the streets this early.

"This is headquarters. Is the objective secure? Over," HQ asked.

"Affirmative. Proceeding to drop off the package now, over," Alpha whispered in response.

"Place him behind the Game Corner, like we discussed earlier. We will handle the rest. You may pick your payment up later today. Rocket HQ out," the voice replied. Alpha grinned knowing he would be paid generously for this. He picked the boy up and did as instructed by the Rockets. Once the boy was dropped off in a prearranged hiding spot, he left quickly and silently. Not long after, two men dressed in black emerged from the building, approached the boy and carried him indoors.

* * *

_Several Hours Later..._

I began opening my eyes sluggishly. The first thing I noticed was that I was sitting upright against a cold metal wall rather than lying down in the comfortable sleeping bag. Getting up, I observed my surroundings. I was in a small metal room that had nothing inside of it. On the wall left of me, I could see a door and the outside through windows. One man in a black uniform noticed me and began walking closer to what I deduced was a holding cell. He got close to the window and smirked. "So, _you're_ the kid that got her demoted," he commented chuckling. Naturally, I was confused. I went to sleep last night and next thing I know I am locked in a cell.

"What are you talking about?" I asked stepping back.

"That job from Viridian Forest. I'm sure you remember her. She sure was a hothead though," he replied mumbling the last sentence. "Anyways, you ain't going nowhere if you're thinking of trying to escape," he said.

"Well, what do you guys want with me?" I questioned crossing my arms.

"Do you really think they would tell a Grunt? I don't know, I'm just supposed to guard you," he responded rather annoyed. "Now, I just have to wait for them to get back because this guarding job is _boring_," he added rolling his eyes. It was pretty much silence from there. A few minutes later, someone contacted him. He nodded and said, "Got it," before hanging up. "Looks like they want to see you now, kid," he told me heading toward the door to my cell. He entered a code, and the door slid open. "Don't get any funny ideas," he told me. Afterward, he traveled behind me to make sure I got to the destination and didn't try to escape.

After a minute or so of walking, we arrived at a metal door. The door slid open slowly to reveal a teal-haired man in white and black clothes. One of the things I noticed was that he had a black pentagon with a distinguishable red 'R' inside contrasting his white shirt. "You may return to your usual post, Grunt," the man said. The Grunt nodded and walked away from us. "Ahem, so you are the trainer that I've heard about," he ushering me in. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Archer, and welcome to our headquarters." I simply stood there silently. "If you haven't figured it out, you are currently in the presence of Team Rocket's top Executive," Archer told me. "With all that aside, tell me what you know," he told me sternly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked taking a step back.

"Don't play stupid with me. We know about your little connection with that Legendary Pokémon," he replied slamming his fist on the desk.

"I honestly don't know what you are talking about," I lied crossing my arms.

"Have it your way," Archer said snapping his fingers. Suddenly, two men appeared on either side of me with bats in their hands.

"Now, you can either tell me what you know or-" he was cut off by his phone. He mumbled something unintelligible before answering. "This is Archer," he said nonchalantly. "What? Slow down. I can't understand what you are saying," he said in an annoyed tone. "Are you being serious?!" he asked in surprise at his information. "I'll inform everyone," Archer told them before hanging up. On an intercom presumably, "Hello, Team Rocket. The operation at Goldenrod was successful. Giovanni is returning. I repeat, Giovanni is returning," he broadcasted smiling. I could hear cheers from outside the door at the news.

"Now, back to you," he said to me, smile vanishing. "As I was saying, your second choice is to let these two grunts beat you like a Piñata," Archer threatened. I simply rolled my eyes in response. "That's it, you two, proceed, and feel free to enjoy it," the teal-haired man commanded angrily. One of them took a swing to my upper body. I braced for impact, but something else happened instead. As if my body had a mind of its own, I ducked faster than I thought possible. The Grunt that swung looked surprised, but that didn't stop his friend from swinging at my legs. Again, my body acted almost of its own accord and I jumped over it. Each of them took two more swings, yet I continued to dodge. _Yeesh, I didn't have these reflexes before_ I thought. Frustrated, they swung the bats numerous times. For some reason, it became kind of fun.

I laughed once the two became tired. "That the best you can do?" I taunted and stuck my tongue out. _Why did I do that?_ I wondered noting my odd behavior. _Who cares! It's fun!_ another part of me said.

"You immature little," one of them said raising his bat once more.

"Hold it," Archer told him holding an arm up. Reluctantly, he put the bat down. "You've impressed me, child. You're more childish than I thought, but impressive nevertheless," he commented doing a slow clap. "We could always use someone with those reflexes on our stealth team, you know?"

"I will have to refuse that offer," I declined regaining my composure.

"Very well, I need to make preparations for _his_ return, so one of you two take him back to his cell," Archer responded turning away. Afterward, the two men that tried harming me earlier escorted me back to my cell. The door was closed once more and another grunt was guarding my cell. A few minutes after the guards left, the Grunt came up to me.

"Hey, kid," he said looking around to make sure no one could hear him.

"What?" I asked leaning against the wall.

"I am a globe-trotting member of the International Police! My name... Ah, no, I will inform you of my code name only. My code name, it is Looker. It is how I am called! After the defeat of Team Galactic, I was assigned to investigate the Rockets. Thought they claimed to have permanently disbanded in Johto, they are back here in Kanto. Interesting, is it not? I am here to break you out of this place," he told me, speaking very quickly at a hushed tone.

"First off, I only got half of that. Secondly, why should I trust you?" I asked highly suspicious.

"I suppose you cannot. Either way, you must follow me," he replied opening the door. "Now, get out," he commanded. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I sighed and stepped out. "Very good, that is! Now, we must hurry before any of Team Rocket catches on to my plan!" he said walking toward the door quickly. I reluctantly followed. Looker guided me for several minutes before we went up stairs to a door. "Hurry now, child! It will not be long before they notice your absence," the man told me unlocking the door. "No need for thanks. Farewell. I have a feeling we shall meet again," Looker finished pushing me outside and locking the door behind me.

I gathered my bearings and stepped away from the building. I had been released into an unknown city to me. I stopped one of the passerby and asked where I was.

"You're in none other than Celadon city," he informed me. I thanked him and decided it would be best to stay in town until I could contact Josh again. Plus, Alexander is gone, and I can't go out alone. I sighed again and headed toward the Pokémon Center. Once inside the building, I took a seat and relaxed. _What a crazy day,_ I thought sticking a hand in my pocket. Since I was no longer preoccupied, I had time to ponder. _Why have I been acting so strangely?_ I wondered looking down. _Okay, okay. I'll start by remembering when the behavior started,_ I decided. _Let's see, was it after the gym battle? No, no. It was before that... It after I woke up-that's it! I had started in the dream, after the encounter with Darkrai's creation! I'll have to ask Mew whether it knows anything about this when I get the chance,_ I thought putting my fist on my palm. Deciding it would be best to begin my search for Josh tomorrow, I requested a room from the nurse.

"You realize we only rent Trainers rooms, right?" she said noting my lack of Pokémon.

"Of course, my friend has my Pokémon," I replied. It was probable that Looker would have told me where Alexander was if he knew. Or at least, that is what I told myself.

"Let me see your trainer ID then," she asked holding her hand out.

"Let me get that for you," I responded pretending to look for my ID. After a minute of fake searching, I said, "I must've left it in my bag. My friend has that as well," I lied.

"Fine, I'll just have to search for you in the database. Name?" she requested.

"Calvin," I replied.

"Let's see... Unregistered hometown... Unknown region...? And one badge, correct?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied letting a mental sigh out. _I didn't know that I'm in the database._

"Very well, you are in room seven," she said handing me the key hesitantly. I thanked her and walked to the room. Once inside, I threw myself onto one of the chairs. _So, I'm going to need an ID, huh? I'll ask Josh how to get an official trainer card,_ I thought. _Oh well, I have more important matters to attend to that a simple ID._


	9. Chapter 8: Return

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 8: Return**

* * *

"I didn't steal the diamond pickaxe!" I shouted sitting up. I looked around to find I was still in the Pokémon center's room. _Must've dosed off,_ I thought standing from my chair. Yawning, I headed to the door of my room and opened it. I walked to the vending machine in the hall and bought some lemonade. _I was out a good hour and a half,_ I thought glancing at the clock sipping my beverage. Once the bottle was empty, I tossed it in the trash and approached the main area of the building.

"Thank you for the service," a man told the nurse putting his Pokémon away.

"No problem, sir," she replied cheerfully. The man was kind of shady with a black fedora and coat. He wasn't looking and bumped into me. "Pardon me," the male said continuing toward the rooms. _Odd,_ I thought exiting the building.

I knew the Rockets had noticed I escaped by then, so I needed to change my appearance. Eventually, I came across the department store. _Perfect,_ I thought walking into the shop. I headed to the service counter and asked where I might find clothing. She directed me to the second floor. After thanking her for the information, I headed to floor two using the elevator. Once the machine stopped, I began browsing for items.

After about half an hour, I had decided on a grey jacket over a blue shirt, a pair of red pants, and a grey cap. After paying 2500 Pokédollars, I put the cap on and headed back to my room in the Pokémon center. Once in the room, I changed out of my previous clothing and into the new ones. I looked in the mirror thinking, _not a bad look._

_Done playing dress-up?_ a familiar voice asked.

"So, you've returned," I reply. "We're alone and the door is locked, you don't have to hide," I comment leaning against the wall.

You'll have to find me first! Mew responded giggling.

In response, I chuckled. "All right, all right. I'll play one round of hide and seek with you," I said starting to search the room. After all, what harm would a little fun do? Even with Mew's laughing as a guide, it took me a while to find the pink feline.

_Too slow!_ Mew shouted as it emerged from the cabinet.

"Sorry for not checking places only a Pokémon a foot and a half could barely fit into," I replied sarcastically.

_Now, what I came about. I try hunting down Darkrai for just one day, and you manage to get captured? You're a magnet for trouble, aren't you?_ Mew told me with a slight giggle.

"It's not my fault that Team Rocket won't leave me alone," I responded sitting on the bed. "I need to ask a question," I said. Mew tilted its head to the side questioningly. "You see, I've been acting... Oddly lately," I mumbled looking down.

_Oddly how?_ Mew asked floating next to me.

"Well, I've had these random moments where I act childishly, and I don't know why. There is also the fact my reflexes have sharpened themselves as if by magic," I replied.

Is that so... Mew commented looking toward the floor in thought. Suddenly, the small Pokémon teleported a few feet in front of me and lobbed a ball of energy shouting, _Think fast!_ Like before, my new reflexes allowed me to avoid the sphere easily.

"What was that for?!" I asked straightening my cap.

_A test,_ Mew replied. _Now, I might be able to determine the cause of your little problem, if you let me that is,_ it added.

"Okay, do it," I responded with a serious look on my face.

_I will delve into your unconscious, but you cannot be conscious during any of this. I will need to put you to sleep first,_ Mew said.

"Go ahead and do it," I repeated.

_Okay._ Mew began glowing, and I felt drowsy once more. In less than a minute, I was asleep.

* * *

I woke up in a calm grassy plain. I looked around to see the flat ground stretch seemingly infinitely in all directions. _Hey again!_ Mew shouted popping into my vision, which caused me to jump in surprise. _Gotcha!_ Mew exclaimed giggling.

"All right, I'll admit that you startled me," I said chuckling. "I'm assuming you created this meadow, correct?" I asked.

Mew's smile faded. _No... How peculiar. I will get to work on finding the cause of your odd behavior,_ it said flying off. I sighed and sat down on the grass. It was pretty peaceful in the meadow, I had to admit. Just staring off into it was entrancing. I was interrupted from my musing by Mew saying, _I think I found the root of your problem. Don't be alarmed, I can communicate with you anywhere from within your subconscious, and you can do the same._

"Well, what is the problem, then?" I asked.

_Do you want the short or long version?_ the legendary questioned.

"Short would be preferable," I answered.

_It seems your personality is being overwritten by another as well as some of your instincts like your reflexes. Though, I do like the other personality! It seems a lot more fun than your current one!_ Mew replied happily.

"Is there any way to destroy it?" I questioned.

_Without the risk of me messing your brain up seriously, no..._ it replied. I looked down a bit disappointed. However, I might have a way to stop it from overwriting your personality completely, the pink feline added.

"I'm listening," I responded raising an eyebrow.

_I would have to split them apart, which would leave you with a split personality and delay the aggressor greatly,_ the legendary replied. I thought for a moment.

"Do it," I decided putting my hand in my fist.

_Okay, this might give you a slight headache. Get ready,_ Mew said in response. I waited a few minutes. Nothing. I waited some more. Still nothing.

"When are is this going to-urg," a brief explosion of intense pain flashed through my mind, shaking the meadow at the same time. The feeling passed quickly, and I was left with a smaller headache.

_Sorry about that. The other entity was putting up quite the fight,_ Mew told me._Now, let's get out of your mind,_ Mew said quickly without giving me a chance to respond as it transported us from away from my subconscious.

* * *

I woke up lying down on the bed with my legs in the sitting position. Mew materialized next to me. _So, are you ready to end your little stay in Celadon?_ it asked.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

_Well, I doubt you want to be running around in a Rocket infested city looking for you, or me rather, since that is the only reason they want you,_ Mew replied.

"Okay then... Where are you sending me?" I asked.

_To Cerulean. Your friend is near that city, and I am assuming you still want to collect all of those gym badges,_ Mew responded. _I'll take care of the room key and such,_ it added quickly after seeing me reach for the room key. I nodded. _Okay, this might be a little rough since you haven't teleported before,_ the small pink legendary warned before glowing. The sensation of spinning occurred. At first slowly, then it picked up. Faster and faster. The room's colors faded around me. I fell through a black void a few seconds.

As suddenly as they had come, the sensations stopped, and I landed hard onto pavement, causing me to fall backward. I stood back up feeling like I was going to puke, but I held it back. After dusting off my pants, I looked around to see a somewhat quiet city. Everyone continued walking through the streets as if people suddenly teleporting in from nowhere was a completely normal thing. It seemed Mew had landed me in front of a Pokémon center. Feeling like there was a reason for this, I headed in.

"So, you say that you're booked full of trainers? Darn. Well, you will heal my Pokémon then, right?" a familiar voice said as I walked in. I looked ahead to see Josh talking to the nurse. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I walked up quietly to Josh, making sure no noise was made from my footsteps. Once I was close enough, I leaned over to his ear and whispered, "I've returned."

"What the?" Josh asked no one, turning around to see me. "Can I help you, um... Sir?" he questioned me.

I chuckled removing my hat. "You should have seen the look on your face!" I exclaimed laughing.

"You're back, Cal! My Arceus, did you have to be so weird about your return?" he asked.

"I didn't have to, but that was a lot more fun than simply walking up to you," I replied.

"Either way," he began taking the Poké Balls back from the nurse. "It's great to see you again. Seriously, stop getting lost. I don't even want to know about what you were doing this time," he finished handing me Alexander's Poké Bal and my bag. "I trained him a little more though," he commented.

"All I will say is that it involved Team Rocket," I responded putting the Poké Ball back on my belt.

"Dude, don't joke like that. It's a sensitive topic in Kanto in Johto," he told me sternly. "Anyway, I don't care about the reason for your disappearance this time," he added.

"Fine, don't believe me," I replied glad I wouldn't have to explain how I got back so quickly. "Anyway, is there any way that I could obtain a trainer card? I never had one," I asked.

"Yeah, ask the nurse, they will usually help with it. Though, I can't believe you got this far without one," he said shrugging.

"I don't know what that is supposed to mean, but okay," I replied walking up to the counter. "Hello, ma'am, I would like I fill out a trainer card," I said nicely.

"Okay. This happens often with new trainers. I need your first name and to know if you over 10 years old," she said.

"Calvin and yes," I replied.

"Oh, you're the one trainers that defeated Brock a few days ago," she said handing the card to me. "Enjoy it, all replacements cost 500 Pokédollars," she added.

"Thank you," I remarked putting the card away. "Now, Josh," I began turning around to face him. "Ready to set up camp?" I asked with a half-smile.

"As long as you don't disappear again," he said humorously. After leaving the Pokémon center, we headed a small ways from the town. It was about 1800 hours right now, so we had a few hours before we would have to leave once more. I let Alexander out of the Poké Ball and smiled at him. He seemed happy to see me and jumped onto my shoulder immediately. "Someone missed you," Josh remarked. "Anyway," he began. "You ain't getting far in Misty's gym with just a fire-type. I think we should get you one that won't have a type disadvantage," he ended crossing his arms.

"I agree. However, it's a bit late to do that at this point. We'll look tomorrow," I said sitting down on my sleeping bag. "Not like Cerulean is going anywhere, right?" I added smiling.

"I can't say the same about you, can I?" he replied punching my shoulder. I chuckled. We talked for an hour, and it was eventually time to sleep. We said our good nights and began sleeping.


	10. Chapter 9: New and Old Faces

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 9: New and Old Faces**

* * *

I opened my eyes to find myself lying down in a calm grassy area surrounded by trees. _What the?_ I thought sitting up. Something small flew by in the trees, laughing softly as it did so. After hearing the laugh, I eased up, smiling as I did so. "All right, come on out, Mew," I called out standing up.

"Oh, I'm not the Mew you know," the creature replied revealing itself. It seemed like an ordinary Mew, but something was off. "I want to see if you can figure it out though," the small creature said doing a somersault in the air. I looked at it a few minutes before two things struck me.

"You have brown eyes rather than the usual blue, and you were communicating by actually talking rather than telepathically," I said taking a step back. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Calvin," it replied floating a little closer. I stood silently for a few moments.

"What do you me-" everything faded to white before I could ask any more questions. I shot up like a rocket in my sleeping bag.

"What was up with that?" I wondered aloud. I dismissed it as simply an odd dream and decided to get out of the bag. I stretched and looked up at the forest thinking, _Today is the day I will get a new Pokémon._ Josh was still asleep, so I decided not to wake him. I yawned and pulled out my badge case and polished the BoulderBadge with my shirt grinning.

"Someone is up early," a familiar voice said from behind.

"Mornin', Josh," I replied closing the case and putting it away. "Sleep well?" I asked.

"I suppose I did. So, you ready to get your second Pokémon?" he responded. I nodded. "Great! Let's get packed up," he said happily. I agreed, and we were ready to go in a matter of minutes. "So, you have any in mind?" he asked securing his backpack.

"Not really," I responded shrugging. "Where should we go to look?" I asked.

"North of Nugget Bridge," he replied.

"Race ya there," I offered with a smirk.

"You're on!" he agreed. "3...2...1...GO!" he shouted, and we were off! I sprinted forward jumping over a ledge with ease. Along the way, I tripped over a root, giving Josh the upper hand. "Ha ha! That slip up will cost you this!" he exclaimed speeding past me. I shook my head and began running harder than before. I hopped over a bench knowing I was near the bridge. Josh wasn't in sight! I ran down and up some stairs and made it to the bridge before my friend. "Wow... You're fast," Josh said panting as he caught up.

"What can I say? I'm a fast runner," I replied.

"How... are you not tired from that?" he asked straightening up. I shrugged. He did make a point, but I decided to ignore it for now. "Whatever, let's just get over the bridge," he said walking onto it. I nodded and followed. "So, do you have any that you want to catch in mind?" he asked continuing along the bridge.

"Anything is better than taking on a gym that has a type advantage," I responded shrugging.

"Maybe you should have caught a Pikachu in Viridian Forest," he commented.

"After _that_ incident?" I replied putting an eyebrow up.

"They were just defending their territory," Josh stated shrugging. "We were trespassing after all," he added twirling a Poké Ball in his hand.

"Fair enough," I responded pushing the situation to the back of my mind. "There aren't many good Pokémon to catch here anyway," I added yawning out of boredom.

"Maybe we can ask Bill for recommendations. He is a PokéManiac, after all," Josh suggested.

"He knows a lot about Pokémon, right?" I asked hopefully. "Like books and stuff, ya know?" I added shortly after.

"We won't find out just talking about it; lets go," Josh replied beginning to jog. I joined in, and we were there in a matter of minutes. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. From the other side, I heard some shuffling and a metal bang or two before the door opened. From the door, a brown haired male emerged covered in black soot.

"Oh, visitors!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm Bill, a full-blown PokéManiac!" he declared with a smile. "And you two are?"

"I'm Josh, and this is Calvin," my friend answered.

"Nice to meet you two. Excuse my appearance, I'm doing maintenance on my teleporter," Bill replied grinning. "So, you two came to see my Pokémon collection?" he offered.

"Sure!" Josh exclaimed. Bill let us into the Sea Cottage, and we looked around. Inside the cottage, a few blueprints were strewn about the floor, machines that did who knows what were seen, a few books and boxes were around the walls, there were a few plants, a table with four seats, and a PC.

"Take a seat while I finish off the maintenance on the teleporter," Bill told us pointing to the table. About a half-an-hour later, he was done and in new clothes after changing in a different room.

"So," he began taking a seat. "You two were here to see some of my Pokémon, right?" he asked. We nodded. "All right," Bill said pulling out four Poké Balls. "Here are a few of my favorites," the brown-eyed man said letting four Pokémon out. For quadruped creatures emerged from the balls. Intrigued, Josh pulled out his Pokédex and read the definition of the brown one out loud.

"Eevee, the evolution Pokémon. Its genetic code is irregular. It may mutate if it is exposed to radiation from element stones," Josh read from his Pokédex.

"Ah, you have a Pokédex, like those three kids I met," Bill commented. "Let me tell you a funny story about my first time meeting one of those kids. I was trying to perfect my teleporter," the maniac began. "I managed to screw up an experiment and got combined with a Pokémon. This had been after that spiky haired kid, Blue was his name I think, left, so I thought I would be stuck like that for a while. Luckily a boy in red appeared and ran the Cell Separation system for me," he continued chuckling a bit. "After the issue was sorted out, I gave him my S.S. Ticket, so he could board the S.S. Anne because all the passengers are trainers. They had invited me to go, but I can't stand fancy-do's," the storage system creator concluded. I grinned at the tale, knowing that I had played through that in my LeafGreen game cartridge. "Er... It seems the Pokémon have taken a liking to you, bud," Bill said looking at my legs. Confused, I looked down to see the Eevee and its evolutions had made themselves at home near my legs.

"It looks like they have," I said chuckling. "Anyway, you have books on Pokémon, right?" I asked Bill as I stroked the Flareon.

"Uh, plenty," Bill replied. "You want to read them?" he asked.

"Do you have one on Mew and Sinnoh myths?" I questioned standing up.

"Let's go find out," he replied getting up and gesturing for me to follow him to another room. Once we got there, I could see five book shelves chucked with Pokémon books. "Now lets see," the PokéManiac mumbled as he walked up to one of them. "Here's one about studies on Mew," he said pulling a book out of a shelf. "And I'm borrowing this from Cynthia," he added taking a book down from the top of a shelf. He handed the books to me saying, "Go ahead and read up when we return to the main room," Bill said leading me out of the room. Once we arrived, Josh looked up at me.

"Why the sudden interest in Mew?" he asked knowing fully well why I wanted the book on Sinnoh myths.

"The small Pokémon has always intrigued me," I replied shrugging. Josh stared at me for a moment before shrugging and going back to petting Bill's Pokémon.

"I'll leave you two to your own devices while I preform my daily check on my machines," Bill said walking off to a different room. Once he was gone, I looked over the two books. _151: An Extensive Study on Mew_ and _The Deities of Spear Pillar_ were my choices. I thought about my choices and decided to read _151: An Extensive Study on Mew_ first since it seemed more important at the moment. I opened up to the first chapter after skimming through the prologue.

"_Chapter 1: A Brief Overview_

_Physiology_

_Mew is normally described as a pink, bipedal cat-like creature. Mew's hair is so fine and thin, it can only be seen under a microscope. It has a long, skinny tail ending with a rounded tip. Mew has big hind legs and short arms with three-fingered paws. Mew's feet are very large with oval markings near its three toes. Mew has triangular ears and baby blue eyes. Mew is said to have the DNA of every single Pokémon contained within its body. It also vaguely resembles an embryo or fetus, and is often depicted in a pink orb._

_Unique Abilities_

_Mew's main abilities include turning invisible at will, creating force-fields and psychic energy, and being able to Transform into any type of Pokémon. Mew is capable of wielding every type of attack possible. Similarly, Mew has the capability of using any type of telekinetic ability. It also has the ability to float in mid-air. Mew has been known to be capable of surviving underwater as well._

_Behavior_

_Mew is a very curious and intelligent Pokémon that will only appear to someone with a pure heart. It loves playing around and swimming, and is known to act very childish at times, wanting everybody it trusts to play with it. It is attracted to lullabies and will try to stay as close to the music as possible. All in all, Mew is known as a happy, playful and optimistic species of Pokémon._

_Habitat_

_Reports found in Cinnabar Island's Pokémon Mansion region speak of expeditions of scientists which had sighted Mew in Guyana, South America, the place where its first sighting was reported._"

After reading that short chapter, I decided to continue, becoming more intrigued with the small Pokémon. On the second page, there was a drawing that depicted Mew. Oddly enough, I felt a feeling of familiarity wash over me, as if I was viewing a family member. I shook the feeling off and continued reading for several minutes. I walked around the room as I read the pocket-sized book. After getting about fifteen pages in, I stopped and looked up. _Such an interesting Pokémon,_ I thought grinning.

Suddenly, I heard an explosion as well as a shout come from Bill's room and some struggling. I looked over to Josh, who nodded before we both rushed over to the room. Inside the room, I saw two men in black uniforms and an all too familiar red _R_ on their shirts. "Josh! Call the authorities!" I shouted.

A few seconds later, he responded, "Its dead! Toss me yours!" I nodded and threw him mine to see him miss. He tried dialing and exclaimed, "Its busted! I'll get the police!" before running off, leaving me to deal with the Grunts. Bill tried to say something, but his mouth was muffled by a handkerchief around his mouth.

"Great, another annoying kid! Go Marowak!" one of the Grunts shouted letting a brown creature with a skull on its head out.

"We can do this, buddy!" I responded by throwing out Alex.

"Heh heh, its a newbie Trainer. Piece of cake," the grunt said smirking. "Marowak! Use Bonemerang!" he commanded. To my horror, the opponent's Pokémon was so fast that my friend didn't even get a chance to dodge. I watched helplessly as Alexander fainted after the second super effective hit. I returned him to his Poké Ball, not making eye contact with the grunt. "Whats the matter? Scared, little boy?" the grunt said tauntingly. I said nothing looking at the floor. "Face it, kid! You lost! You ain't playing the hero," he continued to insult me. I heard him coming closer. "You sure as heck ain't Re-OOF!"

I removed my fist from his gut. The male looked like he was going to let me have it when she said, "Hold it." The Grunt silently cursed and walked away mumbling about never having any of the fun. "Hold the target down," she ordered the Grunt who clearly treated her as higher than him. The woman walked up to me. "Look at me," she commanded me. I stood still. "I said look at me!" she shouted forcibly pushing my head up. "So it is you," she said chuckling. Without warning, she kicked me on the side of my head. I was thrown right from the blunt force of the kick. I rolled on the my back feeling for any cuts. "You're the reason I have to go on stupid missions like this!" she shouted putting her boot on my stomach and pressing down. I struggled trying to get up, but it was no use. "Mm-hm, the boss, has plans for you, so I won't kill you today," she said as if she was disappointed. "As my partner stated, you are just a useless, troublesome kid," she added with a punch to my face.

"No, I'm not," I responded. "Now get off of me," I said calmly.

"Or else you will what?" she asked laughing. "Do you really think that you have any chance of escape?" she added.

"I said get off," I replied anger filling my voice.

"Ooh, I'm real scared now," she said sarcastically. "What are you going to do? Call for your weak fr-"

"OFF!" I screamed in a fit of rage. I slowly opened my eyes to see the girl was across the room, unconscious. _Was I the cause?_ I wondered feeling exhausted.

"Halt in the name of the police!" a voice said from nearby. The male grunt dropped Bill and hoisted his partner over her shoulder. "Adios!" he shouted before hopping through the hole in the wall they created earlier and running off to who knows where. I took a drowsy step forward to give chase before succumbing to my exhaustion. Everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter! I didn't want to end it on a cliffhanger again, but I also decided you guys had a long enough wait. School gets in the way of my writing. I take no credit for the Mew description. That was taken from Bulbapedia. Also, I'm in the market for a new title since this story's plot was changed with help of a friend who shall not be named.**


	11. Chapter 10: A New Friend

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Nintendo or Pokémon._

* * *

**Chapter 10: A New Friend**

* * *

I awoke to the sight of an increasingly more familiar grassy plain, propped up against a tree. I felt tired, yet I couldn't fall asleep. An apple dropped onto my head seemingly out of nowhere. I slowly looked up, too tired to be irritated. I saw that brown-eyed Mew from before who stared at me curiously. "It's about time you woke up," it said floating in front of my face.

"You-you're that Mew with my name," I said, putting my back against the tree's bark.

"Don't you mean _our_ name," it replied, drifting away from my face. Raising an eyebrow, I slowly stood up, using the tree trunk for support. "I can tell that you're confused," the Mew added with a small giggle.

"Why am I here?" I asked between a yawn.

"Oh, don't you remember? I suppose that did put a lot of strain on your body," it said vaguely.

"Will you just tell me what happened!" I demanded, taking a step forward.

"I'll do better! I'll show you!" it replied waving a had. Seemingly out of thin air, a screen-like rectangle appeared. On it, I saw myself flinging that Grunt off of me and hearing that voice before I passed out. "Our memories are interesting, aren't they?" the Mew said, doing somersaults in the air casually.

"What do you mean by 'our' memories?" I asked, hoping the reason wasn't what I thought it was.

"We're, essentially, the same being," it said, flying up to me and confirming my suspicion.

"How?" I questioned.

"Full of questions, aren't we?" it said laughing. "If what I've gathered from our mind is correct... Heh heh," the Mew hesitated. I gestured for it to go on. "Not important," the brown-eyed Mew simply said. I was about to pry for more information, but decided against it. "Anyway," the cat-like Pokémon said, "I do like how much you've read up on the species!"

"What do you mean?" I answered with yet another question.

"I only know as much as you do, you know?" the Mew simply replied. "Now, are you up for a game of tag?" it offered, lights lit up and all.

"I'm sorry, but," I yawned. "I'm much too tired," I said beginning to sit back down.

"You still haven't figured it out? Just because your physical body is tired, doesn't mean your dream form has to be!" it said snapping its fingers? Paws? I don't know, but it suddenly felt like I had a huge weight lifted off me. "Are you ready now?" Calvin(might as well call my counterpart by our name, right?) asked enthusiastically.

"Fine," I accepted, not wanting to disappoint... err... myself? I don't know.

"Yeah!" Calvin shouted, doing a somersault. "You're it!" the Mew exclaimed taping my shoulder and quickly flying away. I chuckled and gave chase without a second thought. I sprinted after my counterpart and managed to get the tail. I grinned and sprinted off in the other direction, not daring to look back until I had run for a minute. Upon looking back, I noticed that I wasn't being chased and slowed to halt. After turning around, I scratched my head, confused. I shrugged and made an about-face to find myself face to face with Calvin.

"Crud," is all I said before getting tagged by the nose. Before I could retaliate, Calvin flew up and out of sight in the trees. "That isn't very fair!" I called out to the Mew. It poked its head out from the trees. To stay out of my reach, I presumed.

The pink cat seemed to think for a moment before saying, "That's right; I forgot you humans can't fly!" with a laugh shortly afterward. "And I know just how to fix that!" it added with a sly grin. I took a step back, a little worried by the grin on its face. My counterpart's eyes glowed for a few seconds before returning to their normal, brown state. He closed them cheerfully saying, "That should do it!"

"What did you...?" I asked taking a step back, and that's when the feeling hit. It was a pleasant, warm feeling starting from my gut and then spreading throughout my body. Were my clothes getting looser? No, that couldn't have been it. I was shrinking! I watched in shock as pink fur spread from my arms to everywhere on my body. Then, a flash of light occurred, causing me to shield my eyes. When I opened them, I found myself considerably shorter, with a long tail and covered from head to toe with fur. "Wh-why?" is all I could stutter before covering my mouth, realizing how much _younger_ I sounded.

"So that you can fly like me!" Calvin replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You looks better like this anyway," it added with a small, playful laugh.

"I never agreed to this!" I retorted, made a little less threatening by my new voice.

"Well, you better get used to it, since you're eventually going to end up like this-oops!" Calvin said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little worried by the statement.

"Maybe if you tag me, I'll tell you!" Calvin said playfully before flying off. I grunted and tried flying to no avail. I stopped for a moment and pondered. Then, I had an epiphany. Remembering that sensation I felt, God* knows how long ago, with my first dream, I slowly levitated upward. _Whoa_, I thought looking at the ground before me. After some practicing, I got the hang of flying. I just had to think where I wanted to fly and how fast I wanted to, and that's how I flew. I grinned and chased after my counterpart.

It took some searching, but I eventually found the Mew, looking the other direction. Slowly, I inched up to Calvin, relieved that flying made no noise. Eventually, I was close enough to lunge at brown-eyes. I lunged my arm yelling, "Tag! You're it!" The pink feline slowly turned around, confusion clear on its face. I was about to ask why they were so confused when I noticed a crucial detail. "Your eyes... They're blue," I said.

_What's your point? They've always been blue,_ Mew said, rolling its eyes. _Who are you?_ the Pokémon asked curiously. _I don't recall others of my species existing in here when his head is unoccupied by a certain Pokémon._

"I'm Calvin, of course," I responded, smiling.

_Ha ha! Yeah right! But seriously, who are you?_ it asked again.

"I'm telling the truth," I said calmly.

_Then prove it by telling me only something Calvin would know,_ Mew replied.

"Let's see... I came from a different world without Pokémon," I answered. Mew looked at me for a moment with an expression on its face that suggested it was trying to decide whether I was lying or not.

"You're not very good at this game, are you Calv-Oh, hi, Mew!" my counterpart said, coming from behind me.

_There two of you?...Ah, that explains it!_ Mew said snapping its paw/hand/whatever(I still don't know what it is). "All right, whichever one of you is other personality, turn Calvin back, please," the pink feline requested.

"Fine," Calvin said clapping its paws(I'll call them that). There was no warning this time as I saw a bright light. I found myself much larger than the two Mew and looked down to find myself fully clothed(thank the lord) and human. Just as suddenly as I changed back, I fell face-first to the ground with an audible _thud!_ Above, I heard Calvin laughing.

"Not funny," I mumbled standing up. Mew floated down so that it was eye-level with me. "Why are you here?" I asked.

_I was going to inform you about your little friend, but it seems you two have already been acquainted,_ the small Pokémon simply said. _As to why it is here, that is partially my fault, I have to admit,_ it added. _When I slowed the process of your personality being overwritten, that Calvin was the result,_ Mew explained. _Now, I have many duties and must go for now,_ Mew said, disappearing from my mind.

"Mew didn't stick around long," my counterpart said floating next to me. I softly touched the Mew, uttering one word.

"Tag." I looked at the small creature with a grin. "Now, tell me what you meant earlier," I said calmly.

"Oh, you play dirty, I see," Calvin muttered chuckling. "For that, I'll let you figure it out on your own once you wake up," the pink feline added with a laugh. "Good night," is all I heard before I felt a wave of weariness. I dropped to the grassy floor and everything went blank.

* * *

I woke up on a bed in a familiar looking room. Upon a quick survey of the area, I realized it was a room from a Pokémon Center. I slowly got up and headed to the door. I felt tired and used a wall for support as I walked outside the orange-topped building. It appeared to be the early afternoon once I stepped outside. I headed to the right and sat on a bench, enjoying the view.

"Someone's up," a familiar voice said from behind me. I looked back to see my friend's face.

"Hey, Josh!" I exclaimed happily, waving. "So, how long was I out this time?" I asked, figuring it was a few hours at most. His expression turned solemn.

"You were unconscious for three days," he replied simply. My eyes widened in surprise. "We honestly didn't know whether you were going to wake up," he said shaking his head.

"Who is 'we'?"

"The doctor, me, and Bill," Josh responded, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of Bill," he said as he reached into his bag, "He wanted me to give you this; I don't know what's inside, but he told me it came from a friend in a different region." From his bag, a Poké Ball emerged, and he handed it to me. I stared at the ball curiously, trying to guess what was inside. "Open it," Josh urged, giving me a nudge to encourage me. I nodded and let the Pokémon out.

From the ball, a small, four-legged, blue, black and yellow creature with a tail emerged. "Shinx!" it cried happily and turned to look at me and Josh. I grinned, recognizing the Pokémon immediately. On the other hand, Josh, never having seen this Pokémon before, pulled out his Poké Dex and tried to identify it.

"ERROR! Pokémon not recognized," he read from the screen. "Darn thing; Must not have the National 'Dex upgrade," he said, disappointment clear in his voice.

"No worries, I recognize it; it's a Shinx, native to Sinnoh," I told him as I slowly approached the small Pokémon. It seemed a little hesitant at first, but the Shinx stopped once it had caught my scent. From what I could tell by its paws, the creature was a female if I remembered the gender differences correctly.

"You have a way with Pokémon, don't you, Cal," my friend said with a chuckle. "Hard to believe this world was a mere video game to you a few weeks ago, huh?" he said smiling. A few weeks already? It feels like I started this ordeal just a few days ago, I thought as stroked the fur of the newest member of my team.

"Now, let's go train, Josh," I said propping the Shinx on my shoulder. "It has been a while since we battled, hasn't it?" I commented with a grin.

"I catch your drift; meet you on nugget bridge," he replied returning the smile. "Let's roll," he said.

* * *

**A/N: No, I'm not religious. Anyway, sorry for the long waits between chapters! I'll try working faster, but no promises.**


End file.
